Flight Safety Information - February 17, 2023 No. 034 In This Issue : Incident: Jazz CRJ2 at Montreal on Feb 10th 2023, stab trim failure : Incident: United B772 at Honolulu on Jan 23rd 2023, runway incursion : Cessna 208 Cargomaster - Forced Landing/Accident (Argentina) : United, Southwest pilots report laser strikes at Sky Harbor on Super Bowl Sunday : Did Pilot Accidentally Cut Power To Engines Moments Before Nepal Crash? : Air Force Grounds Hundreds of Utility Aircraft as it Investigates Faulty Tail Part : International flights canceled at JFK Airport for second day in a row due to power disruption : Air India mega deal: Airline may need over 6,500 pilots for newly acquired 470 planes : Brand new Boeing 747 scrapped after 16 flights : ARGUS International, Inc. is Growing : Audit Production Manager Position Available : Tenure-Track Faculty Position with a focus on Unmanned Systems in the School of Graduate Studies, College of Aviation, Daytona Beach : Border Patrol to hire 200 surveillance pilots amid shortage : Graduate Research Survey : RESEARCH SURVEY Incident: Jazz CRJ2 at Montreal on Feb 10th 2023, stab trim failure A Jazz Aviation Canadair CRJ-200, registration C-GNJA performing flight QK-938/AC-8938 from Montreal,QC (Canada) to Newark,NJ (USA) with 28 passengers and 4 crew, was in the initial climb out of Montreal's runway 24L when the crew received a "STAB TRIM FAIL" indication, declared PAN PAN, stopped the climb at 5000 feet and returned to Montreal for a safe landing on runway 24R about 30 minutes after departure. The aircraft returned to service after remaining 51 hours on the ground. https://avherald.com/h?article=505468c7&opt=0 Incident: United B772 at Honolulu on Jan 23rd 2023, runway incursion A United Boeing 777-200, registration N774UA performing flight UA-384 from Denver,CO to Honolulu,HI (USA), had landed on Honolulu's runway 04R and was instructed to hold short of runway 04L, the crew correctly read back that instruction. The crew vacated runway 04R via high speed turn off K and went past the hold short line runway 04L and runway 08L, tower instructed the crew to continue cross runway 08L and contact ground. On ground the crew was instructed to call a tower phone number. A Kamaka Air Cessna 208 performing a scheduled flight from Lihue,HI to Honolulu,HI (USA), was landing on runway 04L at that time, touched down, slowed and vacated the runway via taxiway E about 360 meters/1200 feet short of the intersection of runway 04L, runway 08L and taxiway K. On Feb 16th 2023 the NTSB reported: "NTSB investigating Jan. 23 runway incursion at Honolulu Int'l Airport that occurred when a United Boeing 777 crossed runway 4L and conflicted with Cessna 208B that was landing on runway 4L. No damage or injuries reported." https://avherald.com/h?article=505448d3&opt=0 Cessna 208 Cargomaster - Forced Landing/Accident (Argentina) Status: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources Date: Thursday 16 February 2023 Time: ca 01:00 Type: Cessna 208 Cargomaster Operator: Aeromás Registration: CX-MAX MSN: 20800042 First flight: 1985 Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Aircraft damage: Destroyed Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: near Berisso, BA ( Argentina) Phase: En route (ENR) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Montevideo-Carrasco Airport (MVD/SUMU), Uruguay Destination airport: Buenos Aires/Ezeiza-Ministro Pistarini Airport, BA (EZE/SAEZ), Argentina Narrative: A Cessna 208 Cargomaster force landed near Berisso, Argentina, struck a tree and burst into flames. Both pilots survived the accident. The aircraft was almost completely consumed by fire. Preliminary information suggests that the engine had lost power while en route over the water of Rio de la Plata during a flight from Montevideo-Carrasco Airport (MVD), Uruguay to Buenos Aires/Ezeiza Airport (EZE), Argentina. The pilots attempted to reach La Plata Airport, but could not locate the runway in darkness. A landing was then attempted on a lighted street (Calle 635), about 4,5 km east-northeast of La Plata Airport. In the process the aircraft struck a tree and electricity poles. http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20230216-0 United, Southwest pilots report laser strikes at Sky Harbor on Super Bowl Sunday The FAA tells On Your Side that two Boeing 737s were hit by lasers right after Super Bowl LVII. PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - The FAA is investigating after two commercial aircraft were hit by lasers in Phoenix on Super Bowl Sunday, On Your Side has learned. The agency says pilots of United and Southwest Boeing 737 aircraft reported laser strikes at an altitude of about 5,000 feet near Sky Harbor Airport. Both laser strikes happened around 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 12. No injuries were reported. Local authorities were also alerted, according to the FAA. In a statement, a spokesperson for the FAA said, “The FAA is committed to maintaining the safest air transportation system in the world. Aiming a laser at an aircraft is a serious safety hazard that puts everyone on the plane and on the ground below at risk. It is also a violation of federal law. To combat the threat, Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen requested laser manufacturers add a warning label to their packaging to make consumers aware of the safety risks and federal laws when using lasers.” In 2022, pilots reported 9,500 laser strikes throughout the country. Since 2010, 278 pilots have reported injuries related to laser strikes, the agency said. People who are caught shining lasers at aircraft could be fined up to $11,000 per violation. Meanwhile, Nolen was on Capitol Hill Wednesday, answering lawmakers’ questions about other safety concerns in the air, including recent near-collisions and the nationwide ground stop caused by the failure of the Notice To Air Missions System. Nolen says the agency is planning an extensive safety review. “Can I say to the American public that we are safe? The answer is that we are. If the question is can we better be better? The answer is absolutely, and that’s the piece we’re working on,” he said during the hearing. https://www.azfamily.com/2023/02/16/united-southwest-pilots-report-laser-strikes-sky-harbor-super-bowl-sunday/ Did Pilot Accidentally Cut Power To Engines Moments Before Nepal Crash? There were 72 people, including four crew members, on the flight. Rescuers have managed to find only 71 bodies, with the missing passenger presumed dead. The engines of the aircraft were fully functional at the time of the accident. New Delhi: Investigations into the Yeti Airlines crash in Nepal that killed 71 people last month indicate the strong possibility of a startling error by one of the pilots. Five Indians were also killed in the crash. The Yeti Airlines flight 691, which took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport on January 15, crashed on the Seti River gorge between the old airport and the new airport in the resort city of Pokhara. The preliminary crash report reveals that instead of using the flaps lever in the cockpit to configure the aircraft for landing, one of the pilots operated levers which "feathered" the engines - bringing engine power to zero. Less than a minute later, the ATR-72 aircraft crashed and stalled. The plane lost thrust and fell after the propellers of both engines went into the feathered position. It is rare for the propellers of both engines to come to a feathered position, the report notes. "When Air Traffic Controller (ATC) gave the clearance for landing..., the Pilot Flying (PF) mentioned twice that there was no power coming from the engines," the report says. The engines of the aircraft were fully functional at the time of the accident. Flaps are rectangular panels on the wings that are extended to increase their surface area and give the aircraft more lift at slow speed during landing and taking off. If the flaps aren't extended before landing, the plane loses the lift and crashes. Bringing the engine to idle speed with no flaps extended during landing is a gravely unstable configuration. The flight was being operated by two Captains - one was in the process of being familiarised for operations into Pokhara. The co-pilot was an instructor pilot. The pilot landing the aircraft for the landing is believed to have been Anju Khatiwada, one of six women pilots in the airline. Her husband, Dipak Pokhrel, flew for the same airline and was killed in a crash in 2006. The crash was captured live by some Indian passengers who were also killed. There were 72 people, including four crew members, on the flight. Rescuers have managed to find only 71 bodies, with the missing passenger presumed dead. According to the preliminary report, the flight crew had made two flights between Kathmandu and Pokhara earlier in the morning. The flight that crashed was the third in a row by the same crew. Nepal has one of the worst aviation safety records in the world. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/nepal-crash-pilot-error-likely-plane-lost-thrust-and-fell-hints-probe-3790102 Photo Courtesy: US Air Force Air Force Grounds Hundreds of Utility Aircraft as it Investigates Faulty Tail Part Hundreds of the Air Force's workhorse aircraft are being grounded as the service investigates a faulty part which, if not fixed, could potentially cause part of a plane's tail to fall off leading to a crash. Faulty tail pins -- which were allegedly made of the wrong material and are undersized -- are suspected to have been put on hundreds of aircraft sometime between June 2020 and December 2022, according to a screenshot of a memo posted Feb. 9 to the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page, a social media page where airmen often share information about their duty stations. The memo says "should one pin fail, the other would not be able to carry the remaining load and the vertical stabilizer would depart the aircraft." Brian Brackens, a spokesman for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, confirmed to Military.com on Thursday that the memo featured in the Facebook screenshot is authentic. Air Force Materiel Command, which does logistics support for the service, said in a press release Wednesday that flight operations were being stopped for KC-135 Stratotanker refueling planes, RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance planes and WC-135 Constant Phoenix radiation detecting jets as it investigates their tail pins. The stand-down encompasses more than 400 aircraft in total, according to service fact sheets about the planes. "We're taking this action out of an abundance of caution, after consulting with our engineering experts," Col. Michael Kovalchek, senior materiel leader with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Legacy Tanker Division, said in the press release. "We are working closely with Air Mobility Command and all operational users and anticipate all potentially affected aircraft will be inspected." A one-time inspection order, which requires replacement of a faulty tail pin prior to an aircraft’s next flight, was issued Tuesday, according to the press release. As of Feb. 12, two days prior to the formal inspection order, 90 aircraft had been inspected, and 24 were found to have the faulty pins. "Although no mishaps have resulted, leaders elected to accelerate the inspection due to a lack of information to assess the risk of materiel failure in non-conforming parts," Air Force Materiel Command said in the press release. The tail-pin inspection takes about 30-minutes. If a faulty pin is found, aircraft "will be authorized a one-time flight to a repair location" to have it replaced, the command wrote. Most of that work will be done at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex. The repair typically takes less than a day, according to Air Force Material Command. The issue with the tail pin marks the latest mechanical parts issue with the Air Force's aircraft. Earlier this month, an unknown number of V-22 Osprey aircraft across the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps were being grounded as the services grapple with a gearbox issue that has led to several incidents of engine trouble. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/02/16/air-force-grounds-hundreds-of-utility-aircraft-it-investigates-faulty-tail-part.html International flights canceled at JFK Airport for second day in a row due to power disruption NEW YORK -- International flights are canceled at John F. Kennedy International Airport for a second day in a row due to a power disruption. Some travelers have been redirected to other terminals or bused to different airports. But for the worst cases, their flights have been canceled. The situation started as a small electrical fire early Thursday morning inside a utility room, but quickly turned into bigger issues. The airport's busy Terminal 1 was not able to accept inbound and outbound flights. The airport tweeted late Thursday night the terminal will remain closed Friday, and urged travelers to check their flight status before arriving. JFK Terminal 1 will remain closed on 2/17 due to electrical issues as the Port Authority continues working with the terminal’s operator to restore flight operations as quickly as possible. Travelers should check with their carriers for flight status before coming to the airport. The Port Authority said an electrical panel failure caused the fire. The FDNY reported it responded to a small paint can fire. "JFK Terminal 1 will remain closed on 2/17 due to electrical issues as the Port Authority continues working with the terminal's operator to restore flight operations as quickly as possible. Travelers should check with their carriers for flight status before coming to the airport," Port Authority echoed in a statement Friday morning. The issues spanned from the ground to the air. An Air New Zealand flight that was already eight hours into its route to JFK had to make a U-turn and return to New Zealand since there was nowhere to land. "Frankly, it's just terrible that the whole terminal is shut down," Tuckahoe High School student Jackson Snyder told CBS2. "It feels like a movie, like it's not real. I'm still waiting for them to say it's a joke," Tuckahoe High School student Isabella Bivas said. There's no estimated time for when power and the terminal will be back up and running. Some flights have been rerouted to Terminal 4, where the TSA says it added staff at checkpoints to help with bigger crowds. Others are being bused to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. In addition to Air New Zealand, a number of major carriers operate out of Terminal 1 including Air France, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa and Italy's ITA Airways. Individual airlines can be checked here. Travelers should check with their airline for an up-to-date flight status. "You've just got to roll with the punches. It's an unfortunate situation, but we are making the best of it. And the airline is trying to accommodate us by moving to Newark, and hopefully we will leave tonight," said Don Corrao, St. Anthony's High School director of development. Friday morning, 20 flights had already been delayed for the day, and 29 were canceled. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/international-flights-canceled-at-jfk-airport-for-second-day-in-a-row-due-to-power-disruption/ Air India mega deal: Airline may need over 6,500 pilots for newly acquired 470 planes NEW DELHI: Air India may need more than 6,500 pilots following its mega $80 billion deal to purchase 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, news agency PTI reported quoting industry sources. At present, the airline has around 1,600 pilots to operate its fleet of 113 aircraft. The airline's two subsidiaries -- Air India Express and AirAsia India -- together have around 850 pilots for flying their 54 planes while the joint venture Vistara has more than 600 pilots. The latter has a fleet of 53 aircraft, PTI said quoting another source. The report comes 3 days after the airline announced that it will purchase 220 planes from Boeing and 250 from Boeing as part of its comprehensive transformation plan to once again establish itself as a world-class global airline. This is one of the largest aircraft order by any airline in civil aviation history. NEW DELHI: The Tata group-owned Air India broke records on Tuesday when it placed the largest-ever aircraft order Air India, Air India Express, Vistara and AirAsia India together have little over 3,000 pilots to operate the combined fleet of 220 aircraft. The latest Airbus firm order comprises 210 A320/321 Neo/XLR and 40 A350-900/1000. The Boeing firm order comprises 190 737-Max, 20 787s and 10 777s. "Air India is taking these 40 A350 majorly for its ultra long-haul routes or flights which lasts over 16 hours. The airline will require 30 pilots -- 15 commanders and 15 first officers -- per aircraft, which means some 1,200 pilots for A350s alone," the source in the know told PTI. AI chief commercial and transformation officer Nipun Aggarwal, one of the key architects of this order, said “the order comprises of 470 firm aircraft, 370 options and purchase rights to be procured from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade.” An option, given when placing firm order for aircraft, According to the source, 26 pilots are required for one Boeing 777. If the airline inducts 10 such planes, it will require 260 pilots while 20 Boeing 787 will require some 400 pilots considering that each such aircraft needs 20 pilots -- 10 commanders and 10 first officers. Taken together, the induction of 30 wide-body Boeing planes will require a total of 660 pilots, the sources said. The record order aims to put Air India in the league of large global airlines and make it an influential customer for planemakers and suppliers at a time when its home market is seeing a strong post-Covid travel surge. According to Air India, the first of the new aircraft will enter service in late 2023 and the bulk of the planes are to arrive from mid-2025 onwards. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/air-india-mega-deal-airline-may-need-over-6500-pilots-for-newly-acquired-470-planes/articleshow/98012974.cms Brand new Boeing 747 scrapped after 16 flights A Boeing 747 configured as a private VIP jet is being scrapped after having spent just 30 hours in service over 16 flights. The aircraft, originally intended for a Saudi royal, sat on the ground for almost 10 years at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, located at the border between France, Switzerland and Germany. There, it was meant to be fitted with a lavish interior, but that never happened, and after failing to find a new buyer, the plane was eventually flown to Pinal Airpark in Arizona – an aircraft boneyard where retired planes get stripped for parts or stored indefinitely. Fit for a royal The plane is a BBJ, for “Boeing Business Jet” – heavily modified editions of Boeing’s jetliners targeted to governments and corporate clients. Its range of over 10,000 miles and cabin space of about 5,000 square feet are unrivaled by any other business aircraft. It’s also the most advanced model of the Boeing 747 ever produced – the 747-8 variant – which first flew in 2010 but failed to find commercial success due to being expensive to operate. The final one, delivered to cargo operator Atlas Air in early 2023, marked the end of the 747’s production history, though the variant still has a future in the spotlight: two 747-8s are currently being transformed into the next Air Force One planes. Boeing has sold over 250 BBJs to date, the vast majority of them 737s, which have a broader market appeal. The large, expensive, four-engined BBJ 747-8 was a harder sell: “Ten were built in total, and this is the first one retired,” says Connor Diver, a senior analyst at aviation analytics firm Cirium. “It’s not transparent who exactly is buying them, but it’s a very, very large private aircraft and the only operators or buyers tend to be governments and royal families.” This particular one was intended for the Saudi Arabian government, and specifically for the Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, but he died in 2011, just months before the scheduled delivery. The plane, which was assigned a mandatory registration code – N458BJ – first flew in May 2012 for testing, and was officially delivered in June 2012. “According to our database, it flew via possibly San Bernardino and then San Antonio in Texas for a couple of months, and then in December of 2012 it went to Basel,” says Diver. Typically, large business jets are delivered in what’s called a “green” condition – from the color of the protective coating of the fuselage – which means they are empty inside and the interior needs to be installed. “I’m guessing that’s the reason it went there initially, to be fitted out,” says Diver. “Of course, that never happened. And it looks like it sat there for 10 years.” Last flight of this white jumbo before its retirement B747-8JA | N458BJ | take off at Basel Airport.Video Last flight of this white jumbo before its retirement B747-8JA | N458BJ | take off at Basel Airport. How Boeing's 747 jumbo jet changed travel No buyers In 2017, orphaned from its original purpose, the plane went up for sale for $95 million – down from an original list price of around $350 million, according to Diver. It was still empty and advertised as “ready for conversion” in a brochure that can still be found online. But it never sold. “No one apart from a Saudi head of state is going to want a private, four-engine business jet,” says Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at AeroDynamic Advisory. “You can’t convert just one aircraft to cargo, and nobody wants a passenger version. As a consequence, the parts and especially the engines, are worth far more than the airplane.” One major hurdle to a sale was the high cost of fitting the interior. “Fitting one of these out would cost 30, 40 maybe 50 million dollars,” says Diver, “Although you might think it’s a brand new aircraft, the alternate uses for it are rather limited. The commercial passenger variant had a limited production and very few airlines operated it, and they would not be interested in taking any more. So the only other option was potentially another government, but obviously that didn’t happen.” Boeing, which declined to answer a series of questions about the plane when contacted by CNN, eventually bought it back in 2022, from an aircraft trading company called Aircraft Finance Germany. The plane flew to Arizona on April 15, 2022, adding 10 more hours to its time in the air, representing about a quarter of its total flying time. Its very last takeoff from Basel, was immortalized on YouTube by planespotters. Scrap value At Pinal Airpark, a Boeing contractor is still working on disassembling the plane, which has been stripped of the most valuable parts. “I’ve seen pictures of it and it’s been dismantled already, the engines have already been removed,” says Diver. “They were effectively brand new, and one of them is probably in the region of $20 million, so four would be in the region of $80 million.” Major systems like the auxiliary power unit and some of the environmental control systems would also have been among the first to go, according to Aboulafia. “Total production of the 747-8 is about 150 aircraft,” he adds. “It’s a small group of users and a small number of aircraft. But on the other hand, they’re going to want to keep those going. I suspect a lot of the components will probably go to the cargo folks.” It’s unclear whether the plane will be scrapped entirely or put in storage to be harvested for parts later. “What can happen in these cases is that it will sit there until a certain part is needed. They might not necessarily take it all the way down to scrap, and leave it for a few years until somebody wants a specific part,” says Diver. Nine other BBJ 747s are still being operated by the governments of Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Turkey, according to Diver. With the lifespan of a 747 usually clocking in at 25 to 30 years, this one being retired at just 10 years of age is going to set a record that will be difficult to beat. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/boeing-747-vip-jet-scrapped/index.html Tenure-Track Faculty Position with a focus on Unmanned Systems in the School of Graduate Studies, College of Aviation, Daytona Beach The School of Graduate Studies in the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) invites applications for a nine-month tenure-track, open rank position, with strong preference in background and expertise in Unmanned Systems and related areas. The department offers a primarily online Ph.D. in Aviation with specializations in Aviation Safety, Aviation Human Factors, Aviation Operations, and Interdisciplinary. It also offers an MS in Aviation, MS in Occupational Safety Management, and MS in Unmanned Systems in a traditional on-campus format. The candidate will be expected to teach courses in the Ph.D. and/or master’s degree programs and act as the chair and/or member of Ph.D. dissertation or thesis committees. Typical teaching load is 3 courses per semester. In addition to teaching responsibilities, the candidate is required to meet continuing scholarly growth requirements that include publishing scholarly work, actively pursuing and obtaining externally funded research, and presenting work at professional conferences. The candidate will be expected to fulfill service responsibilities to the university and the profession. Faculty for this position will be located on the Daytona Beach campus. The candidate is required to provide instruction through traditional classroom format. Required Qualifications The position requires a doctorate with relevant experience in aviation, safety, operations, or unmanned systems. Those candidates currently pursuing a doctorate may be considered. Preferred Qualifications Preferred qualifications include a Ph.D. in a closely related field, FAA Part 107 certificate, FAA pilot certificates, FAA flight instructor certificates, industry safety experience, and/or industry unmanned systems experience. Candidate materials should be submitted online by applying at https://embryriddle.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job/Daytona-Beach- FL/Tenure-Track-Faculty-Position-with-a-focus-on-Unmanned-Systems-in-the-School-ofGraduate-Studies--College-of-Aviation--Daytona-Beach_R305179. Candidates must submit the following for consideration: • Current CV • A letter of application, with emphasis on ability to teach courses on unmanned systems • Copy of Ph.D. transcript • Teaching philosophy (one page) • Research plan (one page), including research interests, strategies, and research plan Consideration of applications will begin on February 1, 2023, and will continue until the position is filled. ARGUS International, Inc. is Growing Audit Production Manager Position Available ARGUS PROS, A division of ARGUS International, is your one-stop source for creating a superior operation within your air transportation business. We are an experienced quality and safety assurance provider and are accredited by IATA as an IOSA Audit and Training Organization. Ours is a flexible organization, committed to true team auditing for multiple standards at the domestic, regional, and international levels, as well as tailoring all the other resources and services we offer to your specific needs. ARGUS PROS is currently seeking an Audit Production Manager to join our team. ARGUS is an established company with an unparalleled client list and reputation. The perfect candidate will have the proven ability to work with the listed technologies in a team setting. Position Summary: The Audit Production Manager – Air Carrier will manage the audit production processes for the IOSA Program working directly with the Vice President – Air Carrier and Director, Audit Programs – Air Carrier. They will participate in the processing of audit reports, audit quality control, audit tracking and development/modifications of internal forms/manuals. Responsibilities for the position will include, but not be limited to, the following: · Provide Quality Control to audit reports from Air Carrier (AC) audit programs · Work with Auditors to resolve discrepancies/errors within audit reports · Work with Operators and Auditors on the resolution of Corrective Actions · Track audit production status for Air Carrier (AC) audit programs · Assist in the development/revision to processes/procedures/forms/documentation · Assist in the planning and execution of training courses for both internal and external customers · Manage and maintain currency of company manuals · Manage and track the completion of internal and external audits/assessments Corrective Actions · Assist in the development of Corrective Action Plans and resolution of Corrective Actions of internal and external audits/assessments · Other duties as assigned Minimum requirements: · 4-year college degree, or equivalent work experience · IATA Operational Safety Audit “IOSA” experience preferred · Aviation experience required · Experience in auditing and/or evaluation and assessment of aviation operations, and/or maintenance preferred · Foreign language skills preferred · Good working knowledge of all Microsoft Office programs, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Publisher and Adobe Acrobat · Good working knowledge of internet and email usage · Excellent communication and organizational skills PROS is an equal opportunity employer. Please register to submit your cover letter and resume through the SGS Portal: https://jobs.smartrecruiters.com/SGS/743999885517109-audit-production-manager-air-carrier Border Patrol to hire 200 surveillance pilots amid shortage MCALLEN, TX – FEBRUARY 21: Agents from U.S. Air and Marine Operations (AMO), fly an A-Star helicopter near the U.S.-Mexico border on February 21, 2018 near McAllen, Texas. The federal air interdiction agents were searching for undocumented immigrants who had just crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) (NewsNation) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is looking to hire 200 pilots to conduct surveillance and security missions along the U.S. border, the agency announced last week. The question is whether the federal government will be able to meet its goal while competing for talent with an airline industry that’s currently facing a pilot shortage. Air Interdiction Agents (AIAs) — who work as part of CBP’s Air and Marine Operations division — fly planes, helicopters and drones to investigate criminal networks and intercept those who are attempting to enter the country illegally, according to the CBP website. Behind the scenes with Border Patrol in the Florida Keys The position is open to pilots with a minimum of 1,500 flight hours, but 500 of those can be waived. Aviation experts say that flexibility could make the position appealing to someone who is looking to obtain flight time before moving on to a major airline carrier in the future. “Somebody could go work for the government to build that experience and get what we call turbine time,” said Richard Levy, a retired commercial airline captain. “Turbine time” is different than total flight hours and refers specifically to the time spent flying turbine-powered aircraft. Those planes tend to be larger and more complex than ones with piston engines, which tend to be smaller and more commonly used for training purposes. All major commercial airlines have minimum turbine time requirements that a candidate must meet in order to be considered. But those prerequisites have become more flexible recently as some airlines have struggled to staff flights following a surge of COVID-related early retirements and a post-pandemic travel boom. Earlier this month, Southwest Airlines announced it would cut the minimum requirement for prospective pilots in half from 1,000 turbine time hours to 500. While the total hours requirement may be attractive to a pilot with less experience, there’s a noticeable gap in compensation between CBP and major airlines, Levy pointed out. An AIA can make between $100,000 to $120,000 in their first year depending on where they’re located. By comparison, the median annual wage for airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers recently topped $200,000, according to the Labor Department. Border Patrol offering $20K signing bonus to attract recruits Location is another hiring challenge for the government. New CBP pilots are likely to end up in a region along the southern border. A recent AIA job posting listed Tucson and Yuma, Arizona, as well as El Paso, Laredo and McAllen, Texas, among the places new hires could be assigned. Commercial airlines, whose hubs are located in major American cities, are able to draw from a larger pool of candidates. If CBP is able to hit its 200 pilot hiring target it would mark a significant staffing boost. Border patrol currently has 541 Air Interdiction Agents, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. In a news release, CBP says it will use direct-hire authority, which expedites the hiring process when there’s a critical need. “This hiring authority will enable CBP to offer on-the-spot tentative job offers and compete at job fairs with the airline industry,” Andrea Bright, CBP’s Assistant Commissioner of Human Resources, said in a press release. The agency is also developing additional incentive packages to “mitigate attrition” of experienced pilots, a DHS spokesperson told NewsNation. In November, CBP announced a hiring bonus up to $20,000 to attract new agents to address the surge of migrants at the southern border. Nationally, the pilot shortage is unlikely to go away any time soon. A recent analysis by Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm, puts the current pilot shortfall around 17,000 in North America. The shortage is expected to grow to 30,000 by 2032, although the outlook has slightly improved from previous estimates thanks to rising salaries, faster career paths and greater awareness of the need, the analysis concluded. APPLY HERE https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-patrol-surveillance-pilots-shortage/ Graduate Research Survey Greetings, Aviation Professionals! If you are seeing this message, you are being asked to participate in an anonymous questionnaire about safety culture. This is for my Master’s thesis, and your participation would be greatly appreciated. Participation is voluntary, and you can opt out at any time. It should take less than 15 minutes of your time. Please complete the survey in one sitting, as there is a limited period to have your responses recorded. Click the link https://fit.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eEU2rcyJN3MzxH0 ,which will take you to an online survey platform. Please share this announcement with other aviation professionals you know; every response helps! Sincerely, Brandon Judy Master’s Student College of Aeronautics Florida Institute of Technology RESEARCH SURVEY Greetings, My name is Nurettin Dinler, Research Scholar and PhD student at Department of Aviation Science, Saint Louis University working with Nithil Bollock Kumar, PhD Candidate, Gajapriya Tamilselvan, PhD, and Stephen Belt, PhD. We are working on a research project titled “Low-Cost Airline Pilots on Exercising Fuel-Loading Policies during Flight: A Phenomenological Exploration Study.” I am writing this e-mail to invite you to participate in a research study that we are conducting at Saint Louis University. Your participation in this study will involve taking a semi-structured interview that lasts for about 30 minutes. During the interview, you will be questioned about your experiences with Low-Cost Airlines’ fuel-loading policies developed to minimize pilot discretionary (extra) fuel. There is no compensation provided for your participation in the study. However, your participation will be a valuable addition to our research and your findings could lead to greater understanding of risk management for pilots and the sources of stressors in commercial aviation. Participation is completely voluntary, and your participation will remain confidential throughout the process of research. If you are interested in participating in this research, please take a moment to complete the survey at the following link: https://slu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0l9Awl5UkXDiKRo If you have any questions, please contact me at 321-245-8628 or nurettin.dinler@slu.edu Thank you for your time and consideration. Regards, Nurettin Dinler, M.S. Research Scholar Oliver L. Parks Department of Aviation Science School of Science and Engineering McDonnell Douglas Hall, Lab 1046 3450 Lindell Blvd., St Louis, MO 63103 nurettin.dinler@slu.edu (321) 245-8628 Curt Lewis