Flight Safety Information - March 21, 2023 No. 054 In This Issue : Incident: Delta B752 at New York on Mar 15th 2023, slat disagree : Incident: LOT E175 at Warsaw on Mar 17th 2023, rejected takeoff due to indication : Incident: Swiss A320 at Zurich on Mar 16th 2023, rejected takeoff due to engine failure : Incident: Indigo A20N near Hyderabad on Mar 18th 2023, hail strike : Two aircraft narrowly avoided a collision over the weekend, FAA says days after safety summit : Flight attendants renew push to ban lap-babies on planes after turbulence events : Ex-flight attendant claims Delta Airlines uniform gave her cancer : Teen dies after defibrillator on American Airlines plane wasn’t charged, lawsuit claims : IOSA audit conducted at SriLankan Airlines : Pilot Sues United Airlines After He Was Terminated When He Filed a Disability Insurance Claim Just Six Days After He Was Enrolled in the Plan : Air India confident on funding for world’s biggest aircraft deal : Qantas airline warns pilots of Chinese warships causing radio traffic interference over South China Sea : Higher cancer rates found in military pilots, ground crews : 5 Policy Priorities for the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Incident: Delta B752 at New York on Mar 15th 2023, slat disagree A Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N6715C performing flight DL-624 from Mexico City (Mexico) to New York JFK,NY (USA) with 199 people on board, was on approach to New York when the crew stopped the approach at 3000 feet reporting they had a slat disagree. The crew subsequently advised they needed the longest runway available and were setting up for runway 31L. The crew declared emergency advising they were doing a very high speed approach. The aircraft landed on JFK's runway 31L at a higher than normal speed (about 170 knots over ground) about 20 minutes after stopping at 3000 feet. The aircraft vacated the runway about 7500 feet/2250 meters past the (displaced) runway threshold and taxied to the apron. The aircraft returned to service about 11:20 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=506adc35&opt=0 Incident: LOT E175 at Warsaw on Mar 17th 2023, rejected takeoff due to indication A LOT Polish Airlines Embraer ERJ-175, registration SP-LIB performing flight LO-481 from Warsaw (Poland) to Oslo (Norway), was cleared for takeoff from runway 15 and was accelerating for takeoff when the crew rejected takeoff at low speed reporting some failure indication. The crew slowed safely and stopped well clear of the intersection with runway 11. Tower queried whether a runway inspection was needed, the crew advised a runway inspection was not needed. The aircraft subsequently vacated the runway via taxiway O1, about 500 meters/1650 feet short of the runway intersection, and returned to the holding point runway 15. An Enter Air Boeing 737-800, registration SP-ESC performing flight ENT-51UA from Basel/Mulhouse (Switzerland/France) to Warsaw (Poland), was on final approach to Warsaw's runway 11 cleared to land and continued landing crossing the runway intersection about one minute ahead of the takeoff clearance on runway 15. However, there are media reports in Poland claiming the Embraer rejected takeoff because of a loss of separation and conflicts on the runway between the two aircraft. The occurrence Embraer departed about 6 minutes after the rejected takeoff. On Mar 18th 2023 The Aviation Herald received information that one of the throttle levers did not advance as expected. The throttle quadrant was replaced on Mar 18th 2023. https://avherald.com/h?article=5069fe40&opt=0 Incident: Swiss A320 at Zurich on Mar 16th 2023, rejected takeoff due to engine failure A Swiss International Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration HB-JLP performing flight LX-560 from Zurich (Switzerland) to Nice (France), received takeoff clearance from Zurich's runway 28, when about 20 seconds later the crew announced they were stopping after rejecting the takeoff at low speed (below 20 knots over ground). The aircraft vacated the runway and returned to the apron. The flight was cancelled. According to information The Aviation Herald received the left hand engine (CFM56) failed. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground about 26 hours after the rejected takeoff. https://avherald.com/h?article=50695124&opt=0 Incident: Indigo A20N near Hyderabad on Mar 18th 2023, hail strike An Indigo Airbus A320-200N, registration VT-ITA performing flight 6E-6594 from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad (India), was descending towards Hyderabad when the aircraft despite all attempts by the crew to navigate around weather cells encountered hail causing damage at least to the nose and windshields. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Hyderabad's runway 27L. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 15.5 hours before returning to service. https://avherald.com/h?article=506abd06&opt=0 Two aircraft narrowly avoided a collision over the weekend, FAA says days after safety summit A Southwest flight was approaching a runway at Burbank Airport in California when an air traffic controller noticed a helicopter was on that same runway. Two aircraft had a close call over the weekend at Hollywood Burbank Airport in California, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday, days after holding a summit to address rising safety concerns. A Southwest flight was approaching a runway at the airport at 9:52 a.m. Saturday when an air traffic controller noticed a helicopter was on that same runway, according to a statement from the FAA. The helicopter, a Bell 505, had been practicing touch-and-go landings. The controller instructed the Southwest flight, a Boeing 737, to discontinue its approach and go around. The incident is now being investigated by the FAA. Last week, the FAA held an impromptu safety summit to address whether changes should be made to American flight regulations. Another close call occurred earlier this month, in which Republic Airways Flight 4736 crossed a runway, putting it on a path to collide with a United Airlines flight that had been cleared for takeoff. The March 7 incident, which happened at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, is also under investigation. These are the latest in a number of high-profile close calls that have occurred around the country. Video shows Virginia deputies and medical workers appearing to pile on top of Irvo Otieno before his death Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen told "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt that it is safe to fly but that officials have begun “to see things that we don’t expect to see.” “We expect every flight to operate as it should,” Nolen said. “And so we’ve had these events over the past few weeks. That gives us a moment to say, 'Let’s stop. Let’s reflect. Let’s ask ourselves the question: Are we missing anything?'” Nolen told Holt that there has been a swift rebound in airline travel following restrictions easing in the wake of the Covid pandemic. He called it a "pent-up demand for flying" that has put pressure on the system. "Flying has come back with a vengeance, so to speak," he said. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-aircraft-narrowly-avoided-collision-weekend-faa-says-days-safety-s-rcna75785 Flight attendants renew push to ban lap-babies on planes after turbulence events Flight attendants are renewing the call to ban babies from sitting on their parent’s lap amid incidents of severe turbulence during recent flights. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union, which has nearly 50,000 members, is pushing for airlines to require all passengers, regardless of age, to have their own seats on a flight. Most airlines currently allow children under 2 years old to fly for free on their parent’s lap. Sara Nelson, the international president of the union, said the issue has remained a priority for flight attendants for decades due to the safety concerns. “We’ve seen airplanes go through turbulence recently and drop 4,000 feet in a split second,” Nelson told the Washington Post, referring to a Dulles flight earlier this month that saw seven injured and an infant flying out of their mother’s arms. “The G-forces are not something even the most loving mother or father can guard against and hold their child,” she added. “It’s just physically impossible.” Most airlines currently allow children under 2 to fly for free on their parent’s lap. Parent and child on plane. A flight earlier this month saw a child fly out of their mother’s arms due to turbulence. The union raised the issue last Wednesday at the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety summit and submitted its demand of “a seat for every soul” to Congress. The FAA’s current regulation reads: “A seat and an individual safety belt are required for each passenger and crew member excluding infants, who are in other than a recumbent position.” Despite the rule, the FAA echoes the recommendation of health experts who have previously joined the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA’s call to ban lap-babies. In its “Flying with Children” overview, the FAA writes: “The safest place for your child under the age of two on a US airplane is in approved child restraint system (CRS) or device, not in your lap. Your arms aren’t capable of holding your in-lap child securely, especially during unexpected turbulence, which is the number one cause of pediatric injuries on an airplane.” A 2014 study by researchers at the University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital found that 90% of infant deaths on flights between 2010 and 2013 were of children under age 2. Nelson said her union was originally spurred to action following a 1989 incident, in which United Flight 232 crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa, resulting in the death of an infant along with three other babies injured. The FAA states that “the safest place for your child under the age of two on a US airplane is in approved child restraint system.” Following protocol at the time, flight attendants had told parents to wrap their babies in blankets and place them on the floor. “Sadly this has been more than a 30-year priority for our union,” Nelson said. “We must have children safe on the plane and in their own seats with a proper restraint device to make sure it never happens again.” The union’s recommendation comes as lawmakers are working on the FAA’s reauthorization bill, which expires in September. https://nypost.com/2023/03/20/flight-attendants-renew-push-to-ban-lap-babies-on-planes-after-turbulence-events/ Ex-flight attendant claims Delta Airlines uniform gave her cancer Delta Airlines’ allegedly “toxic” uniforms caused one former flight attendant to develop cancer, she claims in a new federal lawsuit. Summer Owens, 43, alleges the uniforms she was forced to wear for over two years starting in June 2018 progressively made her more and more sick. Her symptoms started with itching, burning and swelling on her skin, plus a rash on her behind, burning eyes, a runny nose and shortness of breath, according to a Brooklyn federal suit from Monday. Then by almost a year later, Owens – a JFK Airport based-employee – had symptoms including “fluid-filled blisters on her legs,” extreme fatigue, numbness in her fingers and toes, night sweats, fever, headaches, swelling and trouble sleeping, the filing alleges. Hundreds of Delta workers filed a class-action federal lawsuit against Wisconsin-based Lands’ End in the Badger State in 2020 claiming the uniforms designed by the company were “toxic” and caused skin and breathing issues. That case is still pending with 225 plaintiffs with claims remaining against the company. Owens, a single mom who lives in Pensacola, Florida, is suing the airline for allegedly wrongfully firing her for the sick time and medical leave she was forced to take after she was repeatedly made ill from wearing the uniforms. “I feel betrayed,” Owens told The Post on Monday. “I loved Delta. I was planning on retiring from Delta.” Regal Summer Owens has sued Delta claiming they fired her as a flight attendant after complaining about the health issues she suffered from their uniforms. Owens was required to wear the Lands’ End-designed purple uniform – which consisted of pieces including the “signature” Delta v-neck dress, an apron, a sweater, a scarf and raincoat – between 14 to 24 hours a day for 16 to 22 days per month, her suit claims. “Immediately upon wearing the purple uniform’s apron, Plaintiff noticed that the apron turned the skin on the back of her neck purple and resulted in severe itching, redness, swelling and burning,” the filing claims. These symptoms only got worse, the suit claims. Owens was eventually allowed to wear a different black and white uniform, which employees could buy for themselves with permission, starting in October 2020, but she still had symptoms when she was around other workers wearing the purple outfit, the filing claims. Owens had a range of symptoms including a skin rash. Then the airline started pressuring her to wear a grey uniform which she began doing on Jan. 2, 2022, the suit alleges. This new grey duds, also designed by Lands’ End, according to Owens, caused her symptoms to flare-up “ten-fold,” with her skin peeling off of her neck and face and caused nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, the filing claims. “The dramatic worsening of [Owens’] symptoms while wearing the grey uniform caused her to call out sick more often than previously,” the court documents allege. Owens was fired on June 8, 2022 for “reliability” issues – given all of the sick time and medical leave she was forced to take due to her medical issues allegedly caused by the uniforms, she claims. “It’s done a lot of damage to my personal life, my finances, my health,” Owens said. “And still I’m losing things every day.” A former Delta flight attendant claims the airline’s uniforms gave her cancer. “If [Owens] took a day off as a sick or personal day, the absence was at times counted negatively against her in her employee file,” the suit charges. Owens was so scared to be fired that she withdrew a request for accommodation to allow her to wear the black and white uniform again and continued wearing the grey one, the suit claims. “She felt scared and ‘awful,'” the filing alleges. “She knew that the grey uniform was making her sick, but [she] did not think she had a choice not to wear it.” Owens – who told Delta that she was planning a worker’s compensation claim – says the airline retaliated against her because of her accommodation “and because she sounded bells of alarm that defendant Delta’s uniforms were dangerous for human health,” the suit claims. Just a few months later on Oct. 21, 2022, Owens was diagnosed with Mycosis Fungoides – a type of T Cell Lymphoma cancer – which her doctor believes “was related to defendant Delta’s uniforms,” the suit alleges. Owens claims she was fired for taking too much sick time to deal with the health issues from wearing the uniforms. Owens told The Post that her cancer first presents as a rash and noted it’s chronic and “will never go away,” though it can go into remission. She now has to undergo light chemo treatments twice a week – which gives her high doses of UVA and UVB rays, she said. “People need to know what they have done their employees,” Owens said. “They have destroyed a lot of lives here. They need to be held accountable for that.” Owens’ lawyer Natasha Moskvina told The Post her client “was sickened by the Delta uniform.” “She reported the dangers to her supervisor as a whistleblower,” Moskvina said. “She took some time off to get better. And then she was fired for it.” Moskvina said they are also exploring the possibility of bringing a personal injury lawsuit against the airline. The airline rolled out the uniforms in 2018 and by 2020 hundreds of workers had sued the uniform maker Lands’ End claiming the uniforms gave them health problems. “While we have not yet been notified of any civil lawsuit, Delta has taken and continues to take extensive measures to ensure employee uniforms are made from high quality material and have been tested to ensure they are safe for our employees to wear,” a spokesperson for Delta said. “Delta also provides its employees with an extremely generous leave of absence program, healthcare benefits, and other wellbeing resources.” On Jan. 2, 2020, hundreds of Delta Airline employees sued Lands End over the “toxic” uniforms that caused them symptoms including hair loss, migraines, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, anaphylactic-type symptoms and auto-immune conditions. Delta employees were required to start wearing the allegedly problematic uniforms on May 29, 2018 and were worn by about 64,000 workers — including 24,000 flight attendants, according to the Wisconsin suit. A Delta spokesperson in 2020 said that the airline removed the “optional” apron from the uniform but the rest of the clothes were up-to-code. Three Delta planes by airport gates. Owens claims the uniforms gave her symptoms that eventually escalated to fluid-filled blisters on her legs. Alaskan Airlines and American Airlines had similar issues with their uniforms which were also made by Lands’ End. In June 2018, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health issued a health hazard evaluation report recommending that the airline offer alternatives clothing options. https://nypost.com/2023/03/20/ex-flight-attendant-claims-infamous-delta-uniform-gave-her-cancer/ Teen dies after defibrillator on American Airlines plane wasn’t charged, lawsuit claims The deceased was on a flight to Miami when he went into cardiac arrest and became unconscious. A lawsuit against Fort Worth-based American Airlines says a teen died on a flight in June after an onboard defibrillator failed to work because it wasn’t charged. Kevin Greenidge was on flight AA614 from San Pedro Sula, Honduras traveling to Miami International Airport on June 4, when he went into cardiac arrest and became unconscious. When crewmembers tried to administer a shock from the automatic external defibrillator (AED), it did not shock Greenidge, the lawsuit said. According to the lawsuit filed in a district court in New York by his mother, Melissa Arzu, Greenridge’s death was a result of carelessness from the airline, citing the uncharged mobile battery pack and employees that were untrained in resuscitation. American Airlines and the attorneys listed for the plaintiff did not respond to requests for comment. The Aviation Medical Assistance Act of 1998 requires airlines to medical equipment such as defibrillators and train flight attendants to use the equipment. The complaint lists that Greenidge sustained several injuries prior to his death. Had he survived, the complaint reads he would have been entitled to actual and punitive damages. A corporate medical doctor that worked at American Airlines from 1994 to 2002 convinced the carrier to keep defibrillators on board. David McKenas worked with American and its then-CEO Bob Crandall to make it the first U.S. airline to put defibrillators on board. On Feb 18, 1998, the first life was saved by a defibrillator on an American Airlines flight. Over 350,000 people die of sudden cardiac arrest in the U.S. every year, according to AED USA. If a person going into cardiac arrest is defibrillated within the first 3 minutes from collapse, there’s a 70% chance of survival. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2023/03/20/american-airlines-sued-after-man-dies-allegedly-due-to-faulty-defibrillator-on-plane/ IOSA audit conducted at SriLankan Airlines SriLankan Airlines’ commitment to safety has been reaffirmed with the recent successful completion of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). The IOSA Program is a global industry standard for airline operational safety, on which member airlines of IATA are audited every two years. Under the IOSA Program, SriLankan was audited on the eight areas of Organization and Management System; Flight Operations; Operational Control and Flight Dispatch; Aircraft Engineering and Maintenance; Cabin Operations; Ground Handling Operations; Cargo Operations; and Security Management. The audit systematically verified manuals, training records and standard operating procedures as well as performed physical assessments and aircraft inspections. SriLankan came through successfully in each of the eight areas, following the rigorous procedure. The IOSA registration is crucial for several reasons, besides being a requisite for gaining full membership to IATA. Among its many advantages, compliance with IOSA standards enables SriLankan to stay on top of ever-changing best practices in global aviation safety. It also allows SriLankan to remain listed in the IOSA registry and reap benefits such as convenient settlement of invoices via the IATA Clearing House. The registration further opens doors for SriLankan to enter into codeshare agreements with other airlines and is a trump card in closing in on new business opportunities and alliances. More importantly, it is an assurance to SriLankan’s loyal customers that the airline is committed to consistent operational safety standards that are on par with the highest international standards in aviation. Safety remains an overarching theme in the airline industry and in the many policies and systems that govern the daily operation of an airline. The IOSA registration is a validation of SriLankan Airlines’ outstanding track record and intense efforts in this all-critical area. https://www.newswire.lk/2023/03/21/iosa-audit-conducted-at-srilankan-airlines/ Pilot Sues United Airlines After He Was Terminated When He Filed a Disability Insurance Claim Just Six Days After He Was Enrolled in the Plan A pilot is suing United Airlines after being terminated shortly after he was grounded because he struggled to discern different colors while flying at night. Damon Meyer of Portland, Maine, was hired by United on 12th April 2022, but his employment was terminated less than two months later when he filed a claim for long-term disability through an insurance plan he had just been enrolled in. According to public records, Damon Meyer once set a world record for a cross-country flight in a single-engine prop aircraft. Meyer set the record after flying his tiny Canard prop plane between Ontario, California and Portland in 2015 by keeping the specially modified aircraft aloft for more than 12 hours. Meyer has been a qualified pilot for many years, but he only decided to pursue a career as a commercial airline pilot in 2020 after transitioning from a long career in the information technology sector. In 2022, Meyer secured a job as a pilot with United Airlines and was enrolled in the airline’s long-term disability plan a short time later. Less than a month after being hired, however, the lawsuit says Meyer was forced to ground himself because he was having trouble discerning different colors. This was particularly an issue while flying at night because he couldn’t determine the colors of signals on taxiways. A day after being grounded and only six days after being enrolled in the insurance plan, Meyer filed a claim through United’s long-term disability program. United Airlines terminated Meyer’s employment the following month, claiming that Meyer would “not have met the requirements for a valid medical license at the time he was hired” – a claim that Meyer says is a “ludicrous theory”. Meyer contests the reason for termination, saying that not only did he hold a valid medical license when United hired him but that there is no medical evidence that his eyesight problems existed before United offered him the job. The lawsuit says it is “purely speculative” that Meyer would have failed a medical review if he had had one just before being hired by United. The administrators of the long-term disability plan initially approved Meyer’s claims but withdrew the payout because his employment had been terminated. Meyer has filed his lawsuit in a Maine district court, demanding that United and the administrators of the long-term disability plan pay him benefits for his color blindness. The lawsuit says Meyer remains “totally disabled”. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2023/03/19/pilot-sues-united-airlines-after-he-was-terminated-when-he-filed-a-disability-insurance-claim-just-six-days-after-he-was-enrolled-in-the-plan/ Air India confident on funding for world’s biggest aircraft deal Air India Ltd. is in talks with banks to help fund its recently announced record aircraft order, benefitting from the support of new owner Tata Sons Ltd., the carrier’s chief executive officer said. “We have the backing of Tata Sons, so there is financing available for these aircraft,” CEO Campbell Wilson said in an interview with Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the CAPA India Aviation Summit in New Delhi on Monday. “We have already made some downpayments for these aircraft from our internal funds.” Air India's massive Airbus and Boeing deal is the largest passenger plane order in HISTORY. The agreement is significant not only for India, but also for Western economies and for sending a strong diplomatic message from India. It is also a significant step forward in the Tata Group's expansion Air India's mammoth Airbus and Boeing deal: A game-changer for the aviation industry Campbell Wilson in New Delhi on March 20. Air India has placed an order of 470 aircraft from both Boeing Co. and Airbus SE, with deliveries due to start from the end of this year. Discounts are common for such large purchases. The formerly state-run carrier will use cash, shareholder equity, and sale and leaseback of aircraft to help fund the order, Wilson said last month. With the fleet expansion, Air India is seeking to take on the likes of Emirates and Qatar Airways, which dominate lucrative routes from India to the US and Europe through their hubs in Doha and Dubai. Passengers flying Air India will soon get the much-awaited decent cabin product as the back-in-Tata-fold airline will refurbish its entire wide body fleet in 2024 apart from inducting new aircraft starting this year. Six Airbus A350s (that were meant for Aeroflot but due to sanctions can’t be Wide body cabin refurbishment by next year; seeing unruly flyers almost daily & reporting all: AI CEO Wilson Wilson didn’t say which banks Air India is talking to. India has been quicker than most other nations to get back to pre-Covid levels of air traffic, aided by a strong local market and growing middle class. Domestic air traffic is expected to rise 20% to 160 million passengers in the year through March 2024, and the nation’s carriers may operate a fleet of 1,400 jets by 2030, according to Sydney-based CAPA Centre for Aviation. India plans to spend about 980 billion rupees ($12 billion) over the next two years on airports, including new terminals and the renovation of existing facilities to meet surging demand. A lot of that growth may come from smaller cities where air travel penetration is low. “India over the last few decades has been punching below its weight,” said Subhas Menon, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. “The government is doing what is natural, to build up potential as an aviation hub.” Air India is preparing to integrate Vistara, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Tata Group, to form a single, full-service carrier. The airline is spending $400 million to upgrade its widebody planes, replacing all seats and in-flight entertainment systems with new products. Tata bought Air India for $2.4 billion from the government in 2021. The high-profile privatization under Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended decades of attempts to sell the money-losing, debt-laden carrier, which had been kept alive on years of taxpayer bailouts. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/air-india-confident-on-funding-for-worlds-biggest-aircraft-deal/articleshow/98818990.cms?from=mdr Qantas airline warns pilots of Chinese warships causing radio traffic interference over South China Sea Pilots have been told not to respond to the Chinses warships China's replacing everything Russia lost from US sanctions: Rep. Mike Waltz Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., says Xi Jinping's meeting with Putin is another 'big step' in China's goal to replace the U.S. as a global superpower on 'The Big Money Show.' Australian airline Qantas has warned its pilots about radio interference and GPS jamming coming from Chinese military vessels. The airline said some of its planes have experienced interference on VHF channels "purporting to represent the Chinese military," in the South China Sea, The Guardian reported. The reported interference has not caused any safety issues and pilots were told to report such incidents to air traffic control. The Australian and International Pilots Association president, and Qantas captain, Tony Lucas, released a statement last week saying interference had been detected. A Qantas jet is parked on the tarmac next to firetrucks at Sydney International Airport after making an emergency landing in Sydney, on Wednesday, Jan. 18. The airlines has said pilots have experienced radio interference from Chinese warships in the (Jeremy Ng/AAP Image via AP / AP Images) "Our members are aware of recent reported communication and electronic interference," he said. "Qantas Group pilots are well trained and remain ready to manage these sorts of issues safely in accordance with defined procedures." Earlier this month, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations issued a statement confirming the interference. "IFALPA has been made aware of some airlines and military aircraft being called over 121.50 or 123.45 by military warships in the Pacific region, notably South China Sea, Philippine Sea, East of Indian Ocean," the group said. It urged pilots not to respond to the warships. "IFALPA is engaging with IATA and air navigation service providers (ANSPs) to ensure that all parties are aligned with our procedures and to prevent this from occurring in the future," the group added. Former Georgia Congressman Doug Collins discusses the impact of China's Xi Jinping visit with Vladimir Putin in Russia.video China, Russia in 'unequal' relationship right now: Doug Collins Former Georgia Congressman Doug Collins discusses the impact of China's Xi Jinping visit with Vladimir Putin in Russia. Meanwhile, tensions between China and Australia have been fraught in recent years. President Biden and the leaders of Australia and the United Kingdom announced in San Diego last week that Australia would purchase nuclear-powered attack submarines from the U.S. to modernize its fleet amid growing concern about China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific. The AUKUS deal — named after Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States — provoked an angry reaction from China, which accused Australia of going down a "path of error and danger." https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/qantas-airline-warns-pilots-chinese-warships-radio-traffic-interference-south-china-sea Higher cancer rates found in military pilots, ground crews WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon study has found high rates of cancer among military pilots and for the first time has shown that ground crews who fuel, maintain and launch those aircraft are also getting sick. The data had long been sought by retired military aviators who have raised alarms for years about the number of air and ground crew members they knew who had cancer. They were told that earlier military studies had found they were not at greater risk than the general U.S. population. In its yearlong study of almost 900,000 service members who flew on or worked on military aircraft between 1992 and 2017, the Pentagon found that air crew members had an 87% higher rate of melanoma and a 39% higher rate of thyroid cancer, while men had a 16% higher rate of prostate cancer and women a 16% higher rate of breast cancer. Overall, the air crews had a 24% higher rate of cancer of all types. The study showed ground crews had a 19% higher rate of brain and nervous system cancers, a 15% higher rate of thyroid cancer and a 9% higher rate of kidney or renal cancers, while women had a 7% higher rate of breast cancer. The overall rate for cancers of all types was 3% higher. There was some good news reported as well. Both ground and air crews had far lower rates of lung cancer, and air crews also had lower rates of bladder and colon cancers. The data compared the service members with the general U.S. population after adjusting for age, sex and race. The Pentagon said the new study was one of the largest and most comprehensive to date. An earlier study had looked at just Air Force pilots and had found some higher rates of cancer, while this one looked across all services and at both air and ground crews. Even with the wider approach, the Pentagon cautioned that the actual number of cancer cases was likely to be even higher because of gaps in the data, which it said it would work to remedy. The study “proves that it’s well past time for leaders and policy makers to move from skepticism to belief and active assistance,” said retired Air Force Col. Vince Alcazar, a member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, which had lobbied the Pentagon and Congress for help. Alcazar serves on the association’s medical issues committee. The study was required by Congress in the 2021 defense bill. Now, because higher rates were found, the Pentagon must conduct an even bigger review to try to understand why the crews are getting sick. Isolating potential causes is difficult, and the Pentagon was careful to note that this study “does not imply that military service in air crew or ground crew occupations causes cancer, because there are multiple potential confounding factors that could not be controlled for in this analysis,” such as family histories, smoking or alcohol use. But aviation crews have long asked for the Pentagon to look closely at some of the environmental factors they are exposed to, such as jet fuels and solvents used to clean and maintain jet parts, sensors and their power sources in aircraft nose cones, and the massive radar systems on the decks of the ships they land on. When Navy Capt. Jim Seaman would come home from a deployment aboard an aircraft carrier, his gear would reek of jet fuel, his widow Betty Seaman said. The A-6 Intruder pilot died in 2018 at age 61 of lung cancer. Betty Seaman still has his gear stored and it still smells of fuel, “which I love,” she said. She and others wonder if there’s a link. She said crews would talk about how even the ship’s water systems would smell of fuel. She said she and others have mixed feelings about finally seeing in data what they have suspected for years about the aviation cancers. But “it has the potential to do a lot of good as far as early communication, early detection,” she said. The study found that when crew members were diagnosed with cancer, they were more likely to survive than members of the general population, which the study suggested was because they were diagnosed earlier due to regular required medical checkups and were more likely to be in better health because of their military fitness requirements. The Pentagon acknowledged that the study had gaps that likely led to an undercount of cancer cases. The military heath system database used in the study did not have reliable cancer data until 1990, so it may not have included pilots who flew early-generation jets in the prior decades. The study also did not include cancer data from the Department of Veterans Affairs or state cancer registries, which means it did not capture cases from former crew members who got sick after leaving the military medical system. “It is important to note that study results may have differed had additional older former service members been included,” it said. To remedy that, the Pentagon is now going to pull data from those registries to add to the total count, the study said. The second phase of the study will try to isolate causes. The 2021 bill requires the Defense Department not only to identify “the carcinogenic toxicants or hazardous materials associated with military flight operations,” but also determine the type of aircraft and locations where diagnosed crews served. After her husband got sick, Betty Seaman asked him if he would have chosen differently, knowing his service might be linked to his cancer. “I flat-out asked Jim. And he, without hesitation, said, ‘I would have still done it.’” https://apnews.com/article/military-cancer-pilots-ground-crew-pentagon-study-298f70c4f7581fe5e08637fcb61abc71 5 Policy Priorities for the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization The reauthorization of Federal Aviation Administration programs should provide dedicated funding for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from airplanes and airports, an increase in the Passenger Facility Charge, and decent wages and benefits for airport service workers. The commercial aviation industry accounts for roughly 5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), or $1.25 trillion, in 2022.1 This year, Congress is slated to reauthorize Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding and programs. The FAA bill presents an important opportunity to advance environmental sustainability; improve job quality for thousands of airport service workers; and ensure the efficiency and competitiveness of the U.S. aviation system. Unfortunately, current FAA funding levels and program structures are not designed to realize these environmental, labor, and economic goals. In fiscal year 2022, the FAA spent $6.4 billion on capital projects, grants to airports, and research. The overwhelming majority of these dollars supported basic capital work with only a small share directed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Federal law restricts the fees that airports may charge passengers, preventing capacity-constrained airports from raising the revenues necessary to finance their long-term capital needs. Finally, despite billions in federal support flowing to airports every year, many of the workers that make commercial air travel possible lack adequate pay and benefits. The FAA bill should increase funding for greenhouse gas reduction projects, ensuring the aviation sector can achieve net-zero carbon emissions by midcentury; extend federal pay and benefit standards to airport service workers to support an efficient, well-qualified workforce; and improve system efficiency by allowing airports to raise the revenue necessary to finance major capital projects. The reauthorization should include the following five policies. Provide not less than $1 billion annually for research, development, and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs). In the 12-month period from December of 2021 to November of 2022, U.S. air carriers providing scheduled commercial service burned 11.4 billion gallons of aviation fuel on domestic flights.3 This is roughly equivalent to 17,273 Olympic swimming pools worth of fuel each year.4 The FAA estimates that, by 2042, domestic enplanements on U.S. commercial air carriers will increase from 645 million to 1.3 billion annually.5 In the absence of additional scientific breakthroughs, demonstration projects, and ultimately scaled production, aviation will contribute a larger and larger share of U.S. climate emissions by midcentury. Reform the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to allow stand-alone climate mitigation, adaptation, and other sustainability projects. Federal grant support for civil airport development dates back to 1946 when President Harry Truman signed the Federal Airport Act. According to the AIP handbook, the program is designed to advance “airport planning, airport development, noise compatibility planning, and noise compatibility projects.”6 Additionally, the handbook states, “A project to improve a building’s energy efficiency is not eligible as a stand-alone project.”7 AIP’s narrow focus on capacity, system efficiency, and noise does not fit with the need to mitigate and adapt to the urgent threat of global climate change. The program should be reformed to not only allow stand-alone climate projects but to prioritize them when scoring projects for discretionary grant awards. Establish a performance management framework for airport Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions and water use. Airports are responsible for a large amount of Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency defines Scope 1 emissions as “direct greenhouse (GHG) emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by an organization (e.g., emissions associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles)” and Scope 2 emissions as “indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling.” 8 Under the framework, each airport receiving AIP funds with more than 100,000 average annual enplanements would be required to conduct an energy- and water-use audit to establish usage baseline. Each qualifying airport would then need to develop a plan for achieving net-zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 along with water use reduction and recycling plans. Increase the maximum allowable passenger facility charge (PFC) from $4.50 to $8.00. Under federal law, commercial airports may charge each enplaning passenger a PFC of up to $4.50 with a maximum of two charges for a one-way flight and four charges on a round-trip. Airports may use PFC revenues on “FAA-approved projects that enhance safety, security, or capacity; reduce noise; or increase air carrier competition.”9 Congress last raised the maximum allowable PFC charge in 2000. Since that time inflation has substantially reduced the purchasing power of these dollars, hampering the ability of airports—especially large hub airports—from raising sufficient revenue for their long-term capital needs. The maximum PFC charge should be raised to $8 per flight segment. Additionally, the FAA bill should amend the program to allow PFC revenues to support stand-alone GHG reduction projects. Raise pay and benefits for workers in federally supported airports. Airport service workers—including cleaners, wheelchair agents, baggage handlers, ticketing agents, caterers, concessions workers, passenger service agents, and lounge workers—are at a breaking point. Although they have provided essential services throughout the pandemic and are supporting the safe return to normalized travel, these workers are typically paid substandard wages and benefits.10 For example, according to 2015–2019 American Community Survey data, the median earnings for aircraft cleaners are just $13.99 per hour.11 Service workers whose jobs are funded through direct federal contracting have long enjoyed protections to ensure they are paid market wages and benefits. Research shows that these sorts of standards boost earnings and equity in a government supported sectors and support safe and efficient services by reducing turnover and encouraging a well-qualified workforce.12 Congress should incorporate language from the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act into the FAA bill which would extend pay and benefit protections to service workers at commercial airports—which receive billions of dollars in federal funding every year.1 Taken together, these policies will ensure that the U.S. aviation system is efficient and competitive; advance environmental sustainability and keep our global climate commitments; and improve job quality for thousands of airport service workers. Each year, the federal government spends billions of dollars on airport infrastructure and system operations. These five policy reforms will make sure that federal funds yield the greatest economic, environmental, and social benefits in the years to come. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/5-policy-priorities-for-the-federal-aviation-administration-reauthorization/ Curt Lewis