Flight Safety Information - May 1, 2023 No. 083 In This Issue : Incident: Lufthansa B748 at Buenos Aires on Apr 29th 2023, could not retract landing gear : Incident: American B738 at Dallas on Apr 27th 2023, flaps problem : Incident: Delta B738 at New York on Apr 23rd 2023, lightning strike : 778 Occurrences: UK Air Accident Investigation Notifications Rise Year On Year : ‘Knock him out’: Violent brawl erupts on Jetstar flight to Australia : U.S. engineers recommended grounding Boeing 737 MAX soon after second crash - report : Alaska Airlines Retiring Airbus A321neos In Fall 2023 : US Army admits ‘error’ could force pilots to serve 3 years longer than they thought they’d signed up for : Jet Airways CEO Resigns As Airline Remains Grounded : Army Grounds Non-Essential Flights For Safety Training Pause : FAA Says Funding Cuts Would Endanger Safety In The US Incident: Lufthansa B748 at Buenos Aires on Apr 29th 2023, could not retract landing gear A Lufthansa Boeing 747-8, registration D-ABYP performing flight LH-511 from Buenos Aires Ezeiza,BA (Argentina) to Frankfurt/Main (Germany), was climbing out of Ezeiza's runway 11 when the crew stopped the climb at FL110 due to being unable to retract the landing gear. The aircraft dumped fuel and returned to Buenos Aires for a safe landing on runway 11 about one hour after departure. The aircraft is still on the ground in Buenos Aires about 24 hours after landing back. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=5088155c&opt=0 Incident: American B738 at Dallas on Apr 27th 2023, flaps problem An American Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N309PC performing flight AA-1847 from Norfolk,VA to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA), was on approach to Dallas' runway 35C when the crew initiated a go around reporting they had a flaps problem. The aircraft climbed back to 7000 feet before positioning for another approach to runway 35C. The aircraft landed safely on runway 35C about 30 minutes after the go around. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=5086c762&opt=0 Incident: Delta B738 at New York on Apr 23rd 2023, lightning strike A Delta Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N388DA performing flight DL-838 from Salt Lake City,UT to New York JFK,NY (USA), was descending towards New York when the aicraft was struck by lightning. The aircraft cotninued for a safe landing on JFK's runway 22L. A passenger reported the aircraft had been diverted to Salt Lake City on their flight from San Diego,CA (USA) to JFK for a crew change. On approach to JFK the aircraft was hit by lightning with a loud bang being heard and flames shooting out of the right hand engine (CFM56). The aircraft continued for a normal landing, no emergency services around. The passengers were told it had been a lightning strike. The aircraft remained on the ground in JFK for about 32.5 hours before returning to service. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=5086c1ac&opt=0 778 Occurrences: UK Air Accident Investigation Notifications Rise Year On Year The report indicates an increase in notifications regarding occurrences related to aviation safety. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has recently published its Annual Safety Review for the year 2022, indicating a year-on-year increase in notifications regarding aviation safety-related occurrences. 778 occurrences - what does it mean? In aviation, the term safety occurrence encompasses all events that have or could have implications for safety, including accidents and serious incidents, as well as incidents or events that must be reported. This term also includes occurrences of lesser severity that, in the opinion of the reporter, could impact safety. As per the latest report, the AAIB received 778 notifications of occurrences and initiated two formal and 27 field investigations in 2022. This marks an increase compared to 746 warnings in the previous year and 553 in 2020. It should be noted that global flight activity, including in the UK, was significantly reduced due to the worldwide pandemic that began in 2020 and was only brought under control in 2021. Consequently, the number of occurrence notifications during that period was lower. It is worth noting that the AAIB received 826 reports of occurrences in 2019. In addition, the AAIB conducted nine investigations into fatal accidents that resulted in a total of 11 deaths. Of these, all but one were in the General Aviation (GA) sector. Fatal accidents involved three light aircraft, two microlights, two gliders, and one helicopter. Reflecting on the report, Crispin Orr, Chief Inspector of Air Accidents, said: "It is remarkable how much aviation safety has improved over the last 100 years through incremental changes to way that aircraft are designed, manufactured, maintained and operated. Almost everywhere one looks across the aviation eco-system there are physical systems and standard practices that have been introduced to improve safety as a direct result of learning from previous accidents and incidents. "That important work continues with increased emphasis on learning from serious incidents. In-depth investigation of these occurrences provides an opportunity to identify safety issues and make recommendations to address weaknesses before they become manifest in an accident." 19 recommendations for improved safety The AAIB's safety report featured 19 recommendations aimed at enhancing safety standards, with a primary focus on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). That said, the recommendations also encompassed commercial aviation and General Aviation to ensure overall safety improvement. The main recurring topics in accidents and serious incidents involving commercial air transport aircraft were mishandling of the aircraft during landing or go-around, complex electrical failures leading to system degradation, and failure to achieve take-off performance. One of the recommendations said that the UK Civil Aviation Authority, together with other regulatory authorities, could prepare a set of technical specifications and certification standards for an onboard system that will alert the crew of an aircraft to abnormally low acceleration during take-off. Meanwhile, the "recurring themes for General Aviation continued to be loss of control in flight during aerobatics, partial power loss or flight into clouds by unqualified pilots," according to the report. https://simpleflying.com/uk-air-accident-investigation-notifications-rise/?newsletter_popup=1 ‘Knock him out’: Violent brawl erupts on Jetstar flight to Australia Three passengers were hauled off a plane by police in Australia after a shocking, caught-on-camera brawl erupted on a flight from Bali. The violent confrontation took place two hours into a Jetstar flight from Denpasar, Bali, to Brisbane, Australia, 9News reported Friday. Passenger footage from the afternoon flight shows multiple passengers in fisticuffs while a flight attendant struggles to intervene. “Oi! Stop, stop!” one passenger can be heard shouting. “Someone knock him out,” another traveler behind the camera says. Later footage also shows passengers clapping while the three brawlers are escorted away by the Australian Federal Police upon landing. “This type of violent and disruptive behavior is completely unacceptable and will never be tolerated on our flights,” a Jetstar spokesperson told 9News on Friday. “This was also an extremely tough situation for our crew and we’re providing support to them. The welfare of our passengers and crew is always our number one priority.” No charges have been filed against the three passengers, but two men have been temporarily banned from the airline pending an internal review, the outlet said. Jetstar and the Australian Federal Police did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for a comment. https://nypost.com/2023/04/28/shocking-brawl-erupts-on-jetstar-flight-from-bali-to-australia-video/ U.S. engineers recommended grounding Boeing 737 MAX soon after second crash - report WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Some Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) engineers recommended grounding the Boeing 737 MAX in March 2019 after a second fatal crash and before the agency took action, a report released Friday said. Stay ahead of the market The Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General said in a report that its review of emails and interviews of FAA officials revealed individual engineers recommended "grounding the airplane while the accident was being investigated based on what they perceived as similarities" between two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. "Yet agency officials at headquarters and the Seattle (Aircraft Certification Office) opted not to do so." The FAA ultimately grounded the MAX on March 13, 2019 and lifted the flight prohibition order in November 2020 after Boeing made a series of software upgrades and training changes. The crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia led to a 20-month grounding for the best-selling plane, costing Boeing more than $20 billion and prompting lawmakers to pass sweeping legislation reforming airplane certification. Boeing declined comment. 7:47 PM 4/30/2023 The report FAA officials "expressed frustration that foreign civil aviation authorities were grounding the aircraft before they had data that linked the two accidents." The report said FAA has not updated the underlying order and related guidance for its post-event risk assessment processes in over a decade and lacks "quantifiable human factors data, such as pilot reactions to non-normal situations." It also said FAA engineers "are not all following or receiving the same guidance or training." It made seven recommendations for improvements for risk assessments and other issues. The FAA said it agrees with the Inspector General's recommendations. "We also continue to look for additional opportunities to apply lessons learned from the Boeing 737 MAX's return to service," the agency said Friday. The report also says following the Ethiopian Airlines crash an FAA engineer drafted a preliminary risk analysis for the MAX on March 12, 2019 that "showed a fleet risk for the MAX that was over 13 times" the agency's recommended guidelines. "An FAA official noted at the time that the analysis suggested that there was a 25% chance of an accident in 60 days and that there were only 'a matter of days' to implement a fix." The inspector general added the engineer's risk analysis was not completed and did not go through managerial review citing a lack of detailed flight data. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-u-engineers-recommended-grounding-170331025.html Alaska Airlines Retiring Airbus A321neos In Fall 2023 Alaska Airlines’ plans to transition to an all-Boeing fleet should be completed in the coming months. Bottom line Alaska Airlines is retiring all Airbus jets Historically Alaska Airlines has operated an all-Boeing fleet, which was a point of pride, given that the airline is based in Seattle. That changed in late 2016, when Alaska acquired Virgin America, which operated an all-Airbus fleet. In late 2020, Alaska revealed plans to retire Airbus aircraft by 2023, as part of a major fleet simplification plan. As of that time, the airline had nearly 70 Airbus jets, including 10 A319s, 49 A320s, and 10 A321neos. Over the past couple of years we’ve already seen Alaska retire A319s and A320s, meaning that at the moment, the only remaining Airbus jets are the A321neos. As noted by @IshrionA, Alaska has updated its schedule to remove all A321neos as of October 1, 2023. This suggests that Alaska intends to retire all of these jets by this fall. Now, presumably this remains subject to change, but that appears to be the plan as of now. Once this transition is complete, Alaska will once again exclusively have Boeing 737s in its mainline fleet. The airline has also ordered quite a few 737 MAXs, to help fuel future growth. Alaska has already retired all A319s & A320s What will happen to Alaska’s Airbus A321neos? Alaska’s Airbus A321neos are young — they’re an average of under five years old. They were all delivered to the airline in 2018 and 2019, well after the merger between Alaska and Virgin America was completed. Alaska never really wanted these jets, but didn’t have a way to get out of that order. We know that Alaska’s plan isn’t to simply park these planes to maturity and just make lease payments until then, but rather the airline is looking for a new home for these jets. I can’t imagine the airline will have any trouble offloading these planes, as there are many airlines that would appreciate picking up some “gently used” A321neos. The whole way that airlines go about fleet strategy is fascinating to me, since there’s so much at play. Alaska has retired nearly 70 Airbus jets that presumably could have been used to continue to grow, and the airline probably could have made money flying these planes. But there are so many other considerations, and at times I wonder if airlines make the right choices. It’s hard to know exactly what the future will look like, and often these decisions are driven by accounting benefits to retiring certain jets, being able to secure good financing terms on new jets, etc. For example, during the pandemic American retired its 757s, 767s, and A330s. Was retiring the A330s really the right move, when we’ve seen a big rebound in international travel, those planes were just recently refurbished, and American has had issues with Boeing aircraft delivery delays? Admittedly hindsight is 20/20, but sometimes you’ve gotta wonder… Alaska Airlines will once again be an all-Boeing airline Bottom line It appears that Alaska Airlines intends to retire its 10 Airbus A321neos as of October 1, 2023, which will mark the end of Airbus operations for the Seattle-based airline. Alaska has been progressively retiring Airbus aircraft over the past couple of years, and has already retired nearly 60 A319s and A320s. You can expect that as of later in 2023, Alaska will be back to having an all-Boeing mainline fleet. https://onemileatatime.com/news/alaska-airlines-retiring-airbus-a321neo/ US Army admits ‘error’ could force pilots to serve 3 years longer than they thought they’d signed up for Dozens of Army pilots are sounding the alarm on what they say is “gross mismanagement” of their service contracts that could result in them being required to serve three years longer than they’d originally anticipated. A problem surrounding how service obligation contracts are enforced could result in hundreds of pilots having to stay in uniform three years longer than they’d expected, possibly disrupting plans for civilian life, including wedding plans, their spouse’s careers and their own civilian employment opportunities. “I want to start upfront by saying we acknowledge that there were errors in the application of aviation officers’ active-duty service obligation,” the head of Army personnel, Lt. Gen. Douglas Stitt, told reporters during a roundtable on Thursday. “We are fixing those errors and we are in communication with the unit leadership and impacted officers. Our overall goal to correct this issue is to provide predictability and stability for our soldiers while maintaining readiness across our force.” Maj. Gen. Tom Drew, commander of Army Human Resources Command, told reporters on Thursday that they became aware of the contract issue when a handful of officers submitted routine paperwork to be released from active-duty, only for the Army to tell them they still had three more years of service on their contracts. After realizing the mistake for those officers, Drew said the Army then did an audit of sorts for other aviation officers, finding the error that is now impacting roughly 600 people. A letter signed by dozens of aviators and sent to Congress outlining the issue said that they had been “misled” by Human Resources Command, West Point and Reserve Officer’ Training Corps Aviation Branch representatives and career managers in the Army. “As an Aviation Officer near the end of my understood service obligation, this impacts my family and I the most as I am attempting to make the transition to civilian life,” the letter said. “While I have cherished my time as a member of this incredible Army, I am looking forward to a civilian career that may now be upended due to the gross mismanagement of my Active Duty Service Obligation.” One active-duty Army pilot told CNN they are facing a “serious financial bind” after having invested thousands into a business that they were preparing to take over after leaving the Army – plans that now are up in the air. The officer said others are now having to handle issues at home, including spouses who were planning career decisions around their service member’s exit from the Army and now are having to readjust, and couples who had planned weddings for when they left service. “People whose spouses feel like the Army and their service member has lied to them about how long they’d be in the military, which is obviously problematic,” the officer said. “So lots of real-life impacts here on families of soldiers who are now being told yeah, you’re going to PCS, you’re going to deploy, you’re going to go on big training rotations, because we’ve decided to retain you.” The crux of the issue lies in an understanding of how long Army pilots would be required to serve after opting for a specific contract when they commissioned, the Branch of Choice Active-Duty Service Obligation, or BRADSO. The BRADSO gives officers a leg-up to choose the branch they want the most when commissioning, making it more likely they’ll get the branch of their choice, but also requiring an extra three years of service. For an officer who commissions out of the US Military Academy at West Point, for example, they would be obligated to serve eight years total — five from West Point, and an additional three from their branch of choice service obligation. But Army pilots have an additional obligation of six years in uniform after they complete flight school. Pilots explained to CNN that previously, it was understood that their eight years of service obligation from West Point and BRADSO ran concurrently with their six-year obligation from flight school, and that they would serve out whichever of those two obligations ran the longest. Under the interpretation of the regulations as it stands now, however, Army pilots would serve their three-year obligation from BRADSO after their six years from flight school, which could result in roughly 10 years of service. Resignation requests denied When aviators who commissioned around 2015 started submitting their resignation requests, at what they thought was the end of their required commitment, they started getting them denied, with the Army telling them they still owed three more years. Drew said Thursday that part of the error was because Human Resources Command put the wrong date into the officers’ files, not including the additional three years of service they owed. But Drew also said aviators he has spoken to recently who commissioned before 2015 largely had the understanding that those three years would occur after their flight school obligation. “It was briefed to them before they signed this contract that as soon as their … flight school portion was up, they had to serve three continuous years to get aviation branch,” Drew said. “That’s both on the ROTC side and then one West Point officer that I spoke to.” A former aviation officer who commissioned before 2015, however, told CNN that was not their understanding, nor was it the understanding of other officers who commissioned with them. The officer said their Army HR representative, who helps manage officer careers, was the person who told him that “you can’t tack on the three-year BRADSO on top of your flight school contract.” “I don’t necessarily know or can’t say if my situation was out of the ordinary or if it was just a clerical error or a mistake, because it honestly seemed like everybody had that understanding,” they said. “This was a senior captain who mentioned it to me. He was an Army aviator as well and probably three or four years my senior.” Drew also said that they did not find a “glaring” breakdown in how the requirements have been applied to officers in the past. They estimate fewer than 20 aviation officers in the past were separated under the previous understanding of the service obligation, and less than 10 of those were voluntarily separated, while the others were separated for things like medical issues or misconduct. The current Army officer, however, said that is “entirely untrue.” “I don’t know if they were just trying to downplay the issue or if they actually just don’t know, which is more legitimate that they just really don’t know because this program is quite botched,” the officer said. But no matter what occurred in the past, the officer told CNN that dozens of aviators are prepared to pursue legal action in court if the Army doesn’t resolve the issue. Drew emphasized to reporters on Thursday that he is approaching every officer’s contract issue on a case-by-case basis with “compassion and empathy, so it’s not like, ‘Well you said three years, so it’s three years,’ like a prison sentence.” But the officer who spoke with CNN is not confident. “One-hundred percent, we believe that the Army is going to have it their way,” they said. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/28/politics/army-pilot-contract-error/index.html Jet Airways CEO Resigns As Airline Remains Grounded The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium has reiterated its commitment to relaunching the airline amid CEO-designate Sanjiv Kapoor's departure. Jet Airways chief executive officer-designate Sanjiv Kapoor has resigned, according to the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC). Departures lounge In a statement shared on social media, Jet Airways’ would-be parent company confirmed the departure of Kapoor following a year of service with the airline. Kapoor will officially vacate the role on Monday following a brief notice period. No successor has been named, with JKC’s executive committee to oversee responsibilities in the interim. “I am proud to have been part of a fantastic team that came together with JKC to create history by reviving an airline for the first time in India,” he explained. “I am a firm believer in the tremendous value that can be created by full-service carriers such as Jet Airways following bankruptcy restructuring, and I know JKC is fully committed towards the revival of Jet Airways and wish them the very best.” JKC board member Ankit Jalan noted the company’s gratitude for Kapoor and his work over the past year, reiterating their commitment to reviving Jet Airways despite the prolonged process. Jalan clarified that the airline was now in the closing stages of its transfer of ownership, and JKC would soon pay off its outstanding debts. Internal conflict Following company transfer approval by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in January, the carrier announced Kapoor would fill the role until JKC took complete control of the airline. Initially appointed as CEO in March 2022, Kapoor’s brief time in the position did not come without controversy. In March, the CEO criticized the airline’s new management for not being “in a rush” to restart operations, later referring to the carrier’s launch as a “marathon, and not a sprint,” according to The Times of India. Kapoor’s sentiment appears to be shared by other Jet Airways high-ups, with several senior staff members quitting amid stalled work and limited funds. The carrier was hit by a similar wave of resignations in December. Earlier this week, veteran pilot and Accountable Manager Captain P.P. Singh notably stood down. Though he did not indicate the reasons for his departure, regional media has speculated Jet Airlines’ slow return to service may be the cause. “Frankly, one hopes Jet flies, everyone hopes...only thing is at the moment, I think I need to move to something different,” Singh told the Economic Times Aviation & Defence Editor, Tarun Shukla. Jet Airlines has several looming deadlines in May set to make or break its revival. On May 14, the 180-day window to repay creditors and former employees is set to lapse. JKC previously agreed to pay out ₹13.7 billion ($167 million) as part of a resolution plan, with around a third being paid out to creditors. However, the company has yet to outline a timeframe for repayments. Jet Airlines’ revalidated air operators’ certificate (AOC) is also set to expire on May 19, having initially projected a return to service during 2022. https://simpleflying.com/jet-airways-ceo-resigns-as-airline-remains-grounded/ Army Grounds Non-Essential Flights For Safety Training Pause The commander of the Army has ceased all non-essential aviation operations after the second midair collision of Army helicopters within a month. Two Apaches collided near Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on Thursday, killing three soldiers and injuring one. It came after a collision between two Blackhawks on a night training mission near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in late March that killed nine soldiers. The Army said there is “no indication of any pattern” between the two accidents, but Army Chief of Staff James McConville ordered a break that includes supplemental training for all flight crews. McConville ordered Army pilots to “focus on safety and training protocols to ensure our pilots and crews have the knowledge training and awareness to safely complete their assigned mission.” He said crews will be grounded until the training has been completed. Thursday’s crash occurred near Healy, Alaska, about 100 miles south of Fort Wainwright, where the helicopters are based with the 11th Airborne Division. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/army-grounds-non-essential-flights-for-safety-training-pause/ FAA Says Funding Cuts Would Endanger Safety In The US This week, the agency announced the launch of a new independent aviation safety review team. On Wednesday, Billy Nolen, acting administrator for the Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA), said that any budget cut would endanger aviation safety across the United States. He said the proposed budget of $19.8 billion for the next fiscal year and the $5 billion for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are critical to maintaining the agency’s safety record. Safety is not free During a hearing before the Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Developments, Billy Nolen said that the FAA operates the safest and most efficient aerospace system in the world. “But this has not come by accident. Simply put: Safety is not free. The recent close calls remind us that safety requires continuous, predictable, and robust funding,” he added. This testimony came after the House narrowly passed legislation raising the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion, which would impact government agencies' funding, as FOX Business reported. Billy Nolen pleaded to Congress not to cut the Agency’s budget. If done, the FAA would have to furlough all FAA employees for up to 22 days, with a potential reduction in force of up to 10%, which is over 4,000 FAA employees. This would have a ripple effect on the whole chain, including suspending training at the agency’s academy, closing about 375 control towers, and more. The FAA’s acting administrator added that the funding is a worthwhile investment in the country’s future. “This is not hyperbole: The budget cuts that have been considered by some would be raw, they would be deep, and they would be impactful to the flying public. Cuts will slow modernization of old systems, hobble our effort to train more controllers, and jeopardize our work to usher in the next era of aviation.” Addressing the shortage of air traffic controllers The FAA expects air traffic to meet or exceed pre-pandemic levels this year and wants that growth to continue. FAA’s budget seeks $117 million to increase air traffic controllers' hiring and reduce the air traffic controller training backlog created during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain safety levels. The agency said it plans to hire 1,800 trainees in 2024, an increase of 300 above the 1,500 it is hiring this year. But to hire and train air traffic controllers is only just a part. To do their job properly, controllers need modern equipment and maintained buildings to perform their duty. In the budget request, the FAA includes $19.6 million to retire its aging NOTAM databases and applications, moving to a modern system. FAA’s new safety team This week, the FAA announced the establishment of a new independent aviation safety review team. This group, composed of former administrators and chairs of NASA, FAA, and NTSB, will present concrete recommendations on how the agency can advance air traffic safety in the country. The need for this team came after eight reported close calls in 2023, which could have ended in the first fatal commercial airline crash since 2013. https://simpleflying.com/faa-funding-cuts-endanger-safety-us/ Curt Lewis