Flight Safety Information - March 9, 2023 No. 047 In This Issue : Incident: Luxair DH8D at Hamburg on Mar 8th 2023, gear problem : Incident: Baltic BCS3 at Riga on Mar 8th 2023, runway excursion on landing : Incident: Shree DH8D near Kathmandu on Mar 9th 2023, engine fire indication : Astronomical Pilot Pay Fuels The Move To Single Pilot Cockpits : US aviation regulator boosting Boeing oversight : Pearland man pleads guilty to falsifying aircraft inspection of plane that crashed, DOJ says : An attempted airport heist of $32 million in Chile leaves 2 people dead : Boeing Nearing Deal For MAX Aircraft With Japan Airlines : Pakistan: Dozens of pilots resign after 35% cut in salaries : China is scrambling to find pilots to fly from its growing aircraft carrier fleet : U.S. moves to seize Rosneft-owned Boeing 737 jet : NTSB Calls for Safety Cameras, Data Recorders in eVTOL Aircraft Incident: Luxair DH8D at Hamburg on Mar 8th 2023, gear problem A Luxair de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration LX-LGE performing flight LG-9513 from Luxembourg (Luxembourg) to Hamburg (Germany), was on final approach to Hamburg's runway 23 when the crew initiated a go around from about 2000 feet MSL, climbed to 5000 feet MSL and entered a hold. The aircraft subsequently positioned for another approach to runway 05 and landed safely about 31 minutes after the go around. A passenger reported the aircraft was on approach to runway 23 when at about 2200 feet the aircraft initiated a go around with the gear already being and remaining down. The captain announced they had indication of a malfunction. The aircraft held for about 25 minutes, the gear still down, and subsequently landed on runway 05. After landing they were told one wheel had been defective. The aircraft is still on the ground about 19 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=5062b053&opt=0 Incident: Baltic BCS3 at Riga on Mar 8th 2023, runway excursion on landing An Air Baltic Bombardier C-Series CS-300, registration YL-AAP performing flight BT-694 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Riga (Latvia) with 89 passengers and 7 crew, landed on Riga's runway 18 at 23:17L (21:17Z), however, the nose gear went off the paved surface after landing. There were no injuries. The airline stated: "The Latvian Airline AirBaltic confirms that on March 8, 2023 at 21:17 UTC (23:17 local time) during a heavy snowfall its flight BT694 from Paris to Riga performed with Airbus A220-300 (YL-AAP) the nose wheel slid off the hard runway surface after the landing in Riga". The passengers and crew were safely taken to the terminal. https://avherald.com/h?article=5062ac34&opt=0 Incident: Shree DH8D near Kathmandu on Mar 9th 2023, engine fire indication A Shree Airlines de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration 9N-ANR performing flight S2A-821 from Kathmandu to Bhairawa (Nepal) with 78 people on board, was climbing out of Kathmandu when the crew stopped the climb at about 11,000 feet due to a right hand engine (PW150A) fire indication. The crew shut the engine down and returned to Kathmandu for a safe landing on runway 02 about 21 minutes after departure. The passengers disembarked safely. The airport reported the aircraft returned due to a right hand engine fire warning, the passengers are going to be taken to Bhairawa with another aircraft. https://avherald.com/h?article=5062a828&opt=0 Astronomical Pilot Pay Fuels The Move To Single Pilot Cockpits Delta Air Lines pilots got an incredible contract. American Airlines says they’ll match and that means pilots who make up to $590,000 per year. United Airlines and Southwest pilots are also negotiating new deals, and have a benchmark of what to expect. The American Airlines pilot contract is so rich that the increased cost is much greater than the airline’s current profits. Combined with massive debt, American Airlines has a problem if fares do not go up. Pilot unions have been successful for two reasons. They are better paid than other unions for two simple reasons. Pilots are in short supply not just because of early retirements during the pandemic (airlines too taxpayer subsidies meant to keep all airline employees working and used some of that money to encourage pilots and others to stop working early) while not training new ones, but also because pilot unions have been successful lobbying for rules that restrict the number of pilots – a 1500 hour requirement that no one else in the world including Europe comes close to, and that had no relationship to the safety claims used to push it through, along with mandatory retirement ages. Pilots can shut down an airline an airline can fly through a flight attendant strike, the way British Airways did, but not so much through a pilot strike because pilots can’t easily be replaced. Meanwhile pilots simply refusing to fly over minor, non-safety items or taking extra time to double and triple check everything combined with slow taxiing, cripples an airline’s performance way beyond what other work groups can do. Pilots can bring down an airline and can’t be replaced. They have leverage. But their expensive pay could become their own undoing over the long term. A near-miss like what happened as an American Airlines Boeing 777 taxied out on the wrong runway in front of a Delta Boeing 737 that was taking off shows the potential tragedy of pilot error, the kind of error you would never expect from a machine. Artificial intelligence is not today ready to take over for a pilot in the cockpit, but much of flying can and is done via auto pilot and that’s effectively AI. We aren’t at a place today where computers replace pilots, but it’s hard to imagine we won’t be in a place 5 to 10 years from now where artificial intelligence computers aren’t a better option for the second pilot in the cockpit. That’s why the next major battleground for pilot unions is going to be two pilots in the cockpit. Pilots have become so expensive that there’s now an incentive to reduce the number of pilots that are needed. And we’re likely to reach the point years into the future where young aviators will ask, “you mean the plane used to be flown entirely by people? How were they able to avoid runway regular runway incursions?” Pilot unions will say this is unsafe, but it’s also inevitable – but there’s a data-driven point at which a machine will become safer than a second pilot. We aren’t there today but it’s hard to imagine we won’t get there. By negotiating these huge pay packages, especially for the most senior pilots who won’t be flying when crunch time comes over giving a captain the tools of a computer-as-copilot, these senior pilots potentially benefit at the expense of their junior colleagues and the profession as a while. https://viewfromthewing.com/astronomical-pilot-pay-fuels-the-move-to-single-pilot-cockpits/ US aviation regulator boosting Boeing oversight WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is ramping up oversight of Boeing (BA.N) and plans to add nearly 300 employees to its safety office following two fatal 737 MAX crashes in recent years, the agency's acting head said on Wednesday. Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen told the Senate Commerce Committee that the aviation safety office, which currently has 7,489 employees, plans to have 7,775 by the end of September. The committee held a hearing on FAA safety reforms that Congress directed in 2020 after the 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. The FAA currently has 107 full-time staff members providing regulatory oversight on Boeing, up from 82 just a couple of years ago, Nolen said. Additionally, he said the FAA has augmented its Boeing oversight team with the equivalent of 35 full-time employees from across the agency to support oversight activities. Boeing declined to comment. A 2020 House of Representatives report said the two fatal 737 MAX crashes "were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA." Nolen told reporters the agency is continuing the review tow new versions of the MAX -- the MAX 7 and 737 10 -- for certification but declined to offer a timetable for when they might be approved. "Safety will dictate that timeline," Nolen said. Nolen said he met with Boeing last month. "We've had a good level of responsiveness with Boeing," Nolen said. "They are committed to the process." Boeing in 2021 agreed to pay $6.6 million in penalties after the FAA said it failed to comply with a 2015 safety agreement and cited other safety concerns. The FAA has closely scrutinized Boeing's quality and other issues in recent years. The FAA continues to inspect each 737 MAX and 787 aircraft before an "airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery." Typically the FAA delegates airplane ticketing authority to the manufacturer. During the hearing, Republican Senator J.D. Vance raised questions about two recent Boeing 737 MAX flights and asked whether the 737 MAX was actually safe after the FAA mandated safety and software updates before lifting a 20-month grounding in late 2020. "I can say categorically that the 737 MAX airplane is safe," said Nolen. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-aviation-regulator-boosting-safety-staff-2023-03-08/ Pearland man pleads guilty to falsifying aircraft inspection of plane that crashed, DOJ says The DOJ says a Pearland man falsified the inspection of an aircraft that later lost in-flight power and crashed. PEARLAND, Texas — A Pearland man pleaded guilty to falsifying aircraft inspection records in October 2020 on a plane that later experienced in-flight power loss and crashed, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday. The DOJ said Roland P. Franklin,52, admitted that he fraudulently claimed to be an Inspection Authorization holder and that he falsely certified an annual inspection on an aircraft, determining that it was airworthy. The Federal Aviation Administration requires most aircraft registered in the U.S. to undergo annual inspections performed by an FAA-certified mechanic. Additionally, the FAA requires an IA holder to certify that the inspection was done properly. According to the DOJ, Franklin was neither an IA holder nor performed the inspection he claimed to have done. A judge has accepted Franklin's guilty plea and he is set to be sentenced on May 24. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible fine of up to $250,000. The DOJ said he is permitted to stay on bond until his sentencing hearing. https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/false-aircraft-inspection-conviction-pearland/285-d34152ad-4103-454d-9753-ae9d46d30a1f An attempted airport heist of $32 million in Chile leaves 2 people dead An airport shootout killed a security officer and an alleged robber in what authorities say was an attempted heist of more than $32 million in cash aboard a plane from Miami. SANTIAGO, Chile — An airport shootout in Chile's capital killed a security officer and an alleged robber Wednesday in what authorities said was an attempted heist of more than $32 million in cash aboard a plane from Miami. Around 10 heavily armed robbers were able to skirt security measures to reach the runway at the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, where a Latam airlines aircraft had $32.5 million in cash that was being transferred to an armored truck, Interior Subsecretary Manuel Monsalve said. There was a shootout between the would-be robbers and security officials that killed an employee of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGAC, as well as an alleged assailant. The other robbers fled. Two burned vehicles were later found nearby. "The brave action by the DGAC officials frustrated the robbery," Monsalve said, noting that the would-be robbers were "highly organized" and "very armed." Video posted on social media appeared to show bullet holes in a Delta plane that was parked next to the Latam aircraft that was targeted. Another video appears to show a moment in the shootout during which a lot of gunshots can be heard. "There was no risk to passengers," DGAC chief Raúl Jorquera said. The attempted heist targeted the $32.5 million that were set to be transferred to an armored truck to then be distributed to several banks in the South American country. The attempted robbery "will undoubtedly lead us to revise processes, protocols that must be improved ... it forces us to rethink many things," Jorquera said. This was not the first time the airport in Chile's capital was targeted. In 2020, thieves stole some $15 million from a warehouse in the airport, six years after a similar $10 million heist. President Gabriel Boric bemoaned the latest heist during a speech Wednesday in which he said that "when there's insecurity, everything else wobbles." An increase in violent crime has contributed to a recent decline in Boric's approval ratings, according to polls. https://www.npr.org/2023/03/08/1162046843/chile-santiago-airport-heist-shootout Boeing Nearing Deal For MAX Aircraft With Japan Airlines The airline could reportedly place the order as soon as the end of this month. The Boeing 737 MAX could soon find another major customer in Japan. If reports are to be believed, Japan Airlines could place an order for several MAX aircraft as it embarks on a fleet renewal program. Boeing’s 737 MAX series competes directly with the popular Airbus A320neo family of jets and has been increasingly finding new customers after getting worldwide approval to fly again. Japan Airlines interested in MAX Boeing will likely receive an order for 20 737 MAX aircraft from Japan Airlines. The carrier has been hunting for the latest-generation narrowbody planes to renew its medium-haul fleet and, according to Bloomberg, is favoring Boeing’s 737 over Airbus’ best-selling A320 family of aircraft. Japan Airlines has been in conversations with both Airbus and Boeing. According to people familiar with the matter, it could end up ordering the 737 MAX planes comprising both the smaller MAX 8 and the larger MAX 10 variant. Bloomberg reports that talks are still ongoing and that an order could be placed towards the end of this month, followed by an official announcement later. Per ch-aviation, Japan Airlines has a fleet of 43 Boeing 737-800 planes, which it flies on domestic as well as medium-haul international routes within Asia. The average age of these planes is a little over 13 years. MAX in Japan While Japan Airlines’ MAX order, if finalized, will be a significant win for Boeing, it wouldn’t be Japan’s first MAX order. In July 2022, All Nippon Airways (ANA) became the first Japanese airline to be a MAX customer when it confirmed its order of 20 737 MAX 8 airplanes. The deal also included options for 10 further MAXs. In January, Japan’s low-cost carrier Skymark also confirmed that it will be ordering four MAX aircraft from Boeing with the option to acquire two more in the future. The two fatal accidents involving MAX aircraft had shrouded the airliner’s future in uncertainty around the world, including in Japan. Before finalizing its MAX order last year, ANA sat on the decision for two years until the plane was deemed fit to fly again following software upgrades. But developments in the last year have shown that Boeing has won back the confidence of Japanese carriers for their narrowbody fleet requirements. A320 vs 737 MAX Boeing’s 737 MAX has found several takers in the last one year. While Airbus’ A320neo family of aircraft remains extremely popular, it now forms a bulk of the plane maker’s order backlog, amounting to more than 7,000 planes. Following its recertification, the 737 MAX has found several customers, including Air India, Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines, Luxair, and others, possibly offering a better deal and delivery timeline than Airbus. As airlines around the world renew their narrowbody fleets, it’ll be interesting to see how the A320 vs 737 MAX rivalry plays out in the coming years. https://simpleflying.com/boeing-nearing-deal-max-aircraft-japan-airlines/ Pakistan: Dozens of pilots resign after 35% cut in salaries The salary cut prompted outrage among the pilots and their representative organization, the Pakistan Airline Pilots Association (PALPA), which has been vocal in its opposition to the salary cuts and stated that pilots have not received a pay increase in seven years Islamabad: In a setback for Pakistan’s civil aviation industry, as many as 30 pilots have resigned from the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), leaving the company in a major crisis. This comes after PIA announced a whooping 35 per cent cut in salaries owing to the severe economic crisis in the country, local media reported. The salary cut prompted outrage among the pilots and their representative organization, the Pakistan Airline Pilots Association (PALPA), which has been vocal in its opposition to the salary cuts and stated that pilots have not received a pay increase in seven years. According to PALPA, private airlines pay PKR 9 lakhs to the first officers and PKR 16 to 18 lakhs to the captain. The organisation argued that this is not enough to sustain a decent living. Salaries of PIA’s most senior captains are close to PKR 7 lakhs, PALPA stated. Owing to the current scenario, more pilots are ready to quit the PIA, putting further pressure on the already beleaguered airline, reports said. PIA pilots joining foreign airlines As per PALPA, these are the same pilots whose names were earlier on the list of 262 fake licenses. They have been offered jobs by world’s top-class airlines at higher salaries. Most of the PIA pilots are now planning to foreign airlines in search of better salaries, leaving their former company in a severe shortage of experienced pilots. https://www.firstpost.com/world/pakistan-dozens-of-pilots-resign-after-35-cut-in-salaries-12264992.html China is scrambling to find pilots to fly from its growing aircraft carrier fleet • China's fleet of aircraft carriers has grown quickly, expanding from one to three in a decade. • To use that fleet effectively, China's navy also has to train pilots to operate carrier aircraft. • To find enough pilots for what could be six carriers, China's navy is expanding its recruiting pool. By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Eager to find pilots for its growing fleet of aircraft carriers, China is turning to a new source of manpower — in this case, woman power. For the first time, the People's Liberation Army Navy, known as the PLAN, is recruiting women as well as recent college graduates to become pilots in its new carrier aviation arm. While US naval aviation arrived in 1910, it wasn't until 1990 that the US Navy had its first woman fighter pilot. "Starting in 2023, the Navy will select carrier-based aircraft pilots from fresh graduates from local ordinary colleges and universities," according to a Chinese navy brochure. "We welcome young men and women who love national defense, are committed to the sea and air, and are well-rounded to participate in the selection process, so that they can dedicate their youth to building a world-class navy and contribute to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!" The brochure lists a variety of prerequisites, some of which are common to military aviation and some which are unique to Communist China. Candidates must be no older than 24 and must have majored in science and technology. They must be no taller than 6 feet and be unmarried. Naturally, they must "love the [Communist] Party, love the motherland, love the people and love socialism" and have a "clean political history." This marks the first time that the PLAN is accepting naval aviation candidates who didn't attend military colleges, according to state-sponsored news site Global Times. A source told Global Times that the navy believes that four years of college creates a solid foundation for prospective naval aviators. In recent years, the world has focused on China's emerging aircraft carrier fleet, which has grown from just one dilapidated ex-Soviet carrier a decade ago to three carriers now, including two built in Chinese shipyards. Some experts believe that China may eventually build six or more carriers, which could challenge the US Navy, especially in the South China Sea and other waters close to China. Yet it takes more than ships to build an effective carrier fleet. When it comes to naval aviation, America dwarfs any other nation simply because the US Navy has an enormous pool of pilots as well as a solid training system. Though the US Navy and Air Force currently face pilot shortages — as do commercial airlines — the Navy still has around 7,000 pilots on its rolls. China is more or less starting from scratch, which means bulking up to a sufficient number of carrier-qualified fliers as well as creating the training pipeline necessary to maintain a steady flow of new pilots. Tapping China's female population is one solution, though China has one of the lowest numbers of female pilots in the world. Indeed, China's dangerously low birth rate has incentivized the Chinese military as a whole to recruit more women. In addition to pilots, China also needs high-performance carrier jets. The US Navy has been designing carrier-based planes since the 1920s, including modern jets such the F-14, F/A-18, and now the F-35. While China has a large and advanced aviation industry, it doesn't have the depth of experience or expertise that other, more mature navies have. In fact, the Chinese navy ended up copying a Russian carrier jet without permission to give its carrier program a boost. That Chinese knockoff, the J-15, became notorious for crashing, much to the glee of Russian media, but the Chinese naval aviation fleet continues to grow, adding more advanced fighter jets and other carrier-capable aircraft. US naval aviation had its growing pains, too. One reason the US Navy is proficient at carrier operations is that it has been launching airplanes from floating airfields for a century. China may need time to catch up, but there is no reason it can't do the same. https://www.businessinsider.com/china-navy-pilot-recruitment-search-for-aircraft-carrier-fleet-2023-3 U.S. moves to seize Rosneft-owned Boeing 737 jet The United States has received a warrant to seize this Boeing 737-7JU aircraft owned by Russian energy company Rosneft. Photo courtesy of U.S. Justice Department/Release March 9 (UPI) -- The United States government has been authorized to seize a Boeing 737 jet owned by Rosneft Oil Company on accusations that it has violated punitive measures imposed against Russia over its war in Ukraine. The aircraft, valued at $25 million, was last in the United States in 2014, but Biden officials say its recent travel to and from Russia violates U.S. sanctions and export controls that prohibit U.S.-manufactured aircraft from entering the country without a license. U.S. officials had request permission to seize the jet, with a warrant authorizing the move unsealed Wednesday, the Justice Department said. "Today's enforcement action demonstrates there is a price to pay for Russian companies and oligarchs that flagrantly evade sanctions that the United States has imposed in response to the unjustified war against the people of Ukraine," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace of the Eastern District of New York said in a statement. Since those sanctions went into effect, the 737 aircraft has left and re-entered Russia at least seven times, according to U.S. officials. By ignoring the export controls, Rosneft, which is headed by U.S.-sanctioned oligarch Igor Ivanovich Sechin, converted its jet into "contraband," Andrew Adams, director of Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing sanctions against Russia. The warrant, he said, provides a roadmap to the private sector and foreign partners "who will refuse to provide refuge and support to the operators of this aircraft as the United States pursues its seizure and forfeiture in aid of Ukraine." The seizure operation is to be coordinated through Task Force KleptoCapture, which was founded in March of last year. According to the U.S. Treasury, since the war began, the administration of President Joe Biden has added more than 2,500 Russian-related targets to its Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons list, including 2,400 people and entities, 115 vessels and 19 aircraft. The United States and its partners have also frozen billions of dollars in Russian assets as well has seized several yachts and aircraft of sanctioned oligarchs and their companies. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/03/09/United-States-to-seize-Rosneft-jet/1051678333497/ NTSB Calls for Safety Cameras, Data Recorders in eVTOL Aircraft With dozens of companies planning to begin operating new eVTOL aircraft as early as 2025, federal agencies are pondering how to safely integrate them into the national airspace—and how to handle the inevitable accident investigations. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be in charge of investigating all accidents and certain incidents that occur during eVTOL flights, Tim LeBaron, director of the NTSB’s Office of Aviation Safety, said Tuesday during a panel discussion on aviation policy at Heli-Expo in Atlanta. This covers passenger-carrying air taxi operations as well as cargo transportation missions using new eVTOL aircraft, which can take off and land vertically but fly like an airplane with a fixed-wing during cruise. LeBaron, who has worked with the NTSB for nearly 20 and spent 15 years as an investigator at the agency, said the NTSB is looking at how it will investigate eVTOL accidents and incidents. He expressed concern over the lack of data recorders and cameras in many eVTOL models. “I'm shocked at how many [OEMs] say, ‘No, we don't have plans for that,’” he said. Without a camera and data recorders in an aircraft, in the event of an accident, “nobody learns from that,” he said. “There are no safety improvements if we have an undetermined [cause].” LeBaron stressed that even though the FAA does not yet require the installation of cameras and data recorders in new eVTOL aircraft, OEMs should be proactive and build them into the aircraft as a critical safety feature. “I think we need to get to the point where it's mandatory,” he said. LeBaron also stressed the importance of recording flight data on the cloud to ensure it is preserved in the event that a data recorder gets destroyed. “Why wait for that to be the requirement? I don’t know if it ever will be, but I hope it is,” LeBaron said. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2023-03-07/ntsb-calls-safety-cameras-data-recorders-evtol-aircraft Curt Lewis