Flight Safety Information - July 7, 2023 No. 130 In This Issue : Incident: THY A321 at Hamburg on Jul 6th 2023, smoke indication : Incident: Anadolujet B738 near Ercan on Jul 4th 2023, engine shut down in flight : FAA Seeking Pilots for EAA AirVenture Study : Air Line Pilots Union Asks The Government To Ban JSX’s Business Model : EASA Warns Of 757 Converted Freighter Door Malfunction : Nearly 200,000 portable chargers recalled after airplane fire — stop using this now : Anticipated ICAO Audit on Nigeria’s Aviation Industry Incident: THY A321 at Hamburg on Jul 6th 2023, smoke indication A THY Turkish Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration TC-JRR performing flight TK-1668 from Hamburg (Germany) to Istanbul (Turkey) with 156 people on board, was climbing out of Hamburg's runway 23 when the crew stopped the climb at about 10,000 feet due to a smoke indication. The aircraft returned to Hamburg for a safe landing on runway 23 about 18 minutes after departure. The airline reported there had been smoke in the area of the rear galley ovens due to a technical malfunction. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 4:45 hours, then departed again and reached Istanbul with a delay of about 5:15 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=50b68f62&opt=0 Incident: Anadolujet B738 near Ercan on Jul 4th 2023, engine shut down in flight An Anadolujet Boeing 737-800 on behalf of Turkish Airlines, registration TC-JKY performing flight TK-7846 from Dalaman (Turkey) to Beirut (Lebanon) with 30 passengers and 6 crew, was enroute at FL390 about 60nm north of Ercan (Cyprus) when the crew needed to shut one of the engines (CFM56) down due to the failure of the engine. The aircraft diverted to Ercan (Northern Cyprus) for a safe landing about 30 minutes later. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Ercan about 49 hours after landing. The passengers needed to be taken back to Turkey due to international restrictions and then flew onward to Beirut. https://avherald.com/h?article=50b68e13&opt=0 FAA Seeking Pilots for EAA AirVenture Study The agency is looking for nearly 1,000 participants for the four-hour paid study measuring pilot cognitive functions The FAA is looking for pilots to participate in a paid research study to measure cognitive function in the aviator population. The study, which consists of four hours of cognitive testing, will take place at the 2023 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Tests will measure pilot performance in tasks such as working memory, attention, mental rotation, and multitasking performance, the FAA said. Participants need to be at least 18 years old, hold a current medical certificate of Class I, II, or III, and have flown at least once in the past six months—either in an aircraft or simulator. Participants must show their pilot certificate and valid medical to take part. The study involves the pilots taking computerized cognitive tests for four hours. The pay is $300 to $500 depending on the level of medical certification. Payment comes upon completion of the tests. The purpose of the study is for the FAA to evaluate the use of computerized cognitive tests as a screening tool for pilots who may have a medical condition that results in cognitive impairment, such as a head injury, stroke, or a reaction to certain medications, and who wish to return to flight or duty status. The FAA is looking for 960 participants, and the information gathered during the study will be used to establish a normative dataset representing what is usual or expected in a representative sample of pilots. The outcome of this research will help ensure that FAA processes for aeromedical decision-making are consistent with best clinical practices for aerospace medicine and current scientific knowledge. The identity of the aviator taking the tests will not be released to the FAA, and there will be no impact on the participant pilot’s medical status. If selected, you can expect a follow up email or phone call from a third-party contractor to confirm your time slot. Please note the phone call may appear as spam depending on your mobile phone provider. Pilots interested in participating in the study may find the scheduling questionnaire here. https://www.flyingmag.com/faa-seeking-pilots-for-eaa-airventure-study/ Air Line Pilots Union Asks The Government To Ban JSX’s Business Model The Air Line Pilots Association, the largest pilot union in the U.S., has filed with the Department of Transportation asking them to outlaw the business model of JSX, which operates 30 seat planes from private terminals. When I first flew JSX I thought that it was too good. You don’t have to go through airports, and can arrive 20 minutes before your flight. All seats are first class seats, drinks and snacks are free, and so is wifi. And everyone seems to like being there. Surely there would be a push by incumbent airlines – especially American and Southwest which are based in Dallas alongside JSX – to outlaw them. That’s what major airlines did when Southwest first launched, and what they did when Legend Airlines sought to fly all premium cabin jets from Dallas Love Field as well. JSX’s CEO pushed back to me in March, suggesting that the industry wouldn’t be unified against them since United and JetBlue have ownership stakes. The actual opposition, though, came from unions and especially the pilots unions though American has piled on. American doesnn’t like the competition, especially when it means offering consumers a better product. ALPA might have stayed quiet about JSX but their fear is that the model is spreading, and it makes it easier to become a pilot. SkyWest is seeking approval to operate an airline under the same rules as JSX in order to operate Essential Air Service routes less expensively. You can’t pay big airline wages and amortize those across a couple dozen passengers instead of a hundred or more. So they’ve taken to the DOT’s docket to try to make the model illegal. They call is ‘closing a loophole’ which is their recognition that it is entirely legal. They just do not want it to be. ALPA begins by complaining that JSX serves airports that have commercial air service already (although they acknowledge 27% of their airports can’t handle large aircraft for scheduled service). But JSX often serves cities without major service, and routes that aren’t served by major airlines – ALPA cites Concord and Monterey, California – suggesting that passengers could just travel to other San Francisco Bay Area airports. JSX offers a differentiated product, that ALPA casts aspersions as catering to premium travelers. Their own pilots, of course, fly to premium destinations like London, Tokyo, and Nice on airlines selling five figure tickets. ALPA doesn’t want competition for premium travelers. JSX offers a more convenient product, but ALPA has an odd sort of model, where if they can prove the airline isn’t ‘necessary’ since people can still travel, they shouldn’t exist. It’s a protectionist argument against innovation. They claim that because the airline appears to a consumer to offer a ‘schedule’ it ought to be regulated as a ‘scheduled airline’. But that is not how FAA rules work. JSX operates squarely within 14 CFR Part 135. And ALPA acknowledges this (“JSX’s response that the loophole is legal misses the point.”) They continue that “[w]hile legal,” it shouldn’t be. This is where they get to the truth of their complaint, that JSX: Doesn’t have to impose the 1,500 hour rule on co-pilots And doesn’t have to enforce age 65 retirements (they hire a lot of 66 and 67 year old senior captains from major airlines, who were themselves pilot union members) Plus, there are other regulatory requirements they don’t have to comply with (though that aren’t necessarily relevant but that would impose costs on a competitor) And they complain that, operating from private terminals, JSX is able to offer greater convenience and avoid TSA. Of course, There is zero evidence that TSA procedures are safer. TSA hasn’t expressed concerns about them! JSX IDs passengers and runs names against screening databases. Carry on bags are swabbed, and laptops removed while proceeding through their security. The union warns “an ERJ-135 or ERJ-1445 can be hijacked and can be used as a missile” (sic) though a chartered aircraft can be, too. Private charters and private planes fly with far less security, day in and day out, and they’re often larger jets too. (And there’s no suggestion that there’s any actual plot against a 30 seat plane from a small operator out of a private terminal, either.) There’s no consideration given to the accidents and road deaths that occur when people are pushed to drive rather than fly on routes where there’s no commercial air service, or people are forced to travel to an airport that’s farther away. Making private terminal procedures – with far stricter security – available to more people is what’s triggering. Bizarrely they’re petitioning the Department of Transportation to ban JSX’s business model over a hyped up security threat even while acknowledging that “TSA’s procedures are beyond the Department’s jurisdiction.” They’re asking the DOT to step outside of its jurisdiction to change the law over thinly-veiled security justifications for naked self-interest. ALPA’s concern, of course, is that carriers operating under existing rules are able to hire pilots which aren’t represented by their union and aren’t subject to the same occupational licensing restrictions that limit competition and drive up wages. Indeed, pilots can get paid while accumulating the hours necessary to work at a major airline while at JSX or other part 135 operators. That’s competition. This is all playing out in a regulatory docket seeking approval for SkyWest Charter to operate Essential Air Service routes. Since SkyWest wants to operate under similar authority as JSX (but from regular airport terminals, and they say without co-pilots who have fewer hours), ALPA sees the JSX model spreading. And they want to clamp down on that. ALPA lobbied for the 1,500 hour rule, but it wasn’t tight enough to accomplish their aims and JSX plus SkyWest Charter shows them that. Fortunately there’s no active rulemaking on revising part 135 rules. But they’re working towards one. Shout out to Scott McCartney and Ben Baldanza, a transcript of whose Airlines Confidential podcast interview with JSX CEO Alex Wilcox makes up 28% of the filing (cited primarily for the propositions that customers receive a premium product and from a more convenient location). https://viewfromthewing.com/air-line-pilots-union-asks-the-government-to-ban-jsxs-business-model/ EASA Warns Of 757 Converted Freighter Door Malfunction The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is urging operators of certain Boeing 757s modified to freighters to ensure work in two service bulletins has been done and that crews verify the doors are firmly latched before departure to prevent them from opening in flight. In a safety information bulletin (SIB) issued June 23, EASA cites two in-service incidents where main cargo doors have opened in flight. In the most recent one, involving a DHL 757 in February 2021, the main door opened during climb-out from Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. The crew declared an emergency and returned safely to the airport. A preliminary report from Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) found the hinges that connect the door to the fuselage were not locked prior to departure. The probe is focusing on two possible scenarios. A hydraulic system malfunction may have prevented the door from closing as designed. Another possibility is ice contamination of sensors designed to tell the crew when the door is locked. A second, similar scenario, in Russian in 2014, occurred during severe winter weather, BFU noted. It did not provide further details on that occurrence or a related probe. EASA’s bulletin, which applies to 757-200s converted from passenger to freighter under EASA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) 10015539 issued in 2014, flags two service bulletins issued by STC holder Precision Conversions. One, issued in July 2006, explains a “collective locking system modification.” The other, issued October 2022, covers door indication system changes. Affected operators should “verify that the design improvements described” in the SBs “have been embodied” on their aircraft and, if not, “implement the changes at the first opportunity.” EASA also said the view ports used to verify the latches are closed should be in good condition with no scratches or other major defects. Other aids, including a color-contrasted tip of a lock pin and mirrors to aid viewing of latches inside the closed door should also be in working condition. BFU’s report does not detail any pre-flight activity related to closing the door. Following the occurrence, DHL issued safety actions for its 757-236 converted freighter fleet. Crews must check latches from the outside through the eight ports, and “attention must be paid to the latches being correctly locked and the locking pins being in their respective drill holes,” the safety action said. “The flight crews are advised to pay attention to the cargo door indications in the airplane. This should ensure that prior to the flight the cargo door is completely closed and locked.” https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/safety-ops-regulation/easa-warns-757-converted-freighter-door-malfunction Nearly 200,000 portable chargers recalled after airplane fire — stop using this now See if your portable charger is affected There's a reason why many airlines are wary of lithium-ion batteries on planes — batteries that are improperly stored, damaged, or have a manufacturing defect could catch fire, with potentially disastrous results. That's just what happened with a VRURC portable charger, which reportedly caught fire during a flight, injuring four flight attendants who had to be treated for smoke inhalation. As a result, the company has issued a recall for 190,000 portable chargers, which were sold on Amazon between July 2021 and May 2023. How to know if your portable charger is being recalled (Image credit: VRURC) VRURC is recalling its model OD-B7 portable charger, which has built-in USB and Lightning cables as well as a wall plug. The model number is printed on the back of the charger, which was sold in six colors (black, blue, green, orange, pink, red and white). Above is an image of what the charger looks like. RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU... CLOSE What to do if your charger has been recalled If you own this model charger, stop using it immediately. You can contact VRURC to get a replacement free of charge: • Call the company collect at 951-593-9128 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday • Email at support@vrurcpower.com • Go online to https://www.vrurcpower.com/pages/safety-recall or https://www.vrurcpower.com/ and click on Recalls at the top of the page for more information. You can also find this information on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall page. Other recalled portable chargers and batteries Of course, this isn't the first time a battery in a consumer electronic device has been recalled. Most famously, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was banned from airlines and eventually recalled by Samsung due to a defective design, which caused numerous models to catch fire and explode. Earlier this year, Anker recalled the Anker 535 Power Banks (PowerCore 20k), of which roughly 42,000 units were sold in the U.S. and Canada; back in June 2019, Apple recalled more than 430,000 15-inch MacBook Pros for overheating batteries. So even the largest companies are not immune to these sorts of issues. https://www.tomsguide.com/news/nearly-200000-portable-chargers-recalled-after-airplane-fire-stop-using-this-now Anticipated ICAO Audit on Nigeria’s Aviation Industry The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will in August carry out audit of Nigeria’s air transport industry to ensure it abides by international safety standard and recommended practices. According to the body, ICAO audits the aviation safety and aviation security oversight capacities of its 193 member states. In the safety domain, these audits are carried out under the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP). During a USOAP audit, ICAO assesses the effective implementation of the critical elements of safety oversight system and conducts a systematic and objective review of a state’s compliance with the provisions of the convention or national regulations and its implementation of ICAO Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPS) procedures and aviation safety best practices. ICAO, which conducts the audit about every three or four years, would be auditing Nigeria at a time its air safety is one of the best in the world in terms of flight operations. Since 2016, Nigeria had only lost three persons in aircraft accident involving civil aviation. That had to do with helicopter accidents. Since 2014 Nigeria has not recorded any major accident involving schedule flight service. This is the area where many industry operators give kudos to the past Buhari administration. But what made this possible is the collaboration between the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which is now Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Nigeria air safety improved significantly when NCAA began to effectively implement the recommendations of NSIB, especially after Captain Musa Nuhu took over as Director General of the regulatory body and Akin Olateru took over the then AIB. He is now the Director General of NSIB. The two critical agencies in aviation worked in sync to significantly improve safety in Nigeria’s airspace; that now the country is projected to be the safest airspace in Africa in terms of rate of major incidents and accidents in civil aviation followed by Morocco, Egypt and South Africa. Last year Olateru spoke on how prepared NSIB was prepared to sustain its coverage of the aviation industry in accident investigation and spread its tentacles to maritime and rail. He disclosed further that the Bureau achieved 82 percent of implementation of safety records so far, adding that it worked with stakeholders in the implementation of the recommendations. “We achieved 82 percent implementation. That is not different from what the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) can achieve, we collaborate with stakeholders on the implementation”, he added. Spokesman of NSIB, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi explained to THISDAY why Nigeria improved significantly in air safety and also said that Nigeria is prepared for the forthcoming ICAO audit. “The industry is prepared for the audit. NSIB and NCAA are ready. There has been a lot of improvement in terms of safety recommendations because if you carry out investigations you will notice areas that need to be improved on to enhance safety; so, you make safety recommendations to NCAA and the airline operators. We have a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the safety recommendations. We have also tried to make sure that it is not only that the recommendations were implemented but that the implementation achieved the desired goals,” Oketunbi said. When asked why the then AIB delayed most of the report of the accidents before 2017, he said that there were many factors that were responsible for that. He attributed the delay to human and other factors in the system, including lack of funding. “But when Olateru came in he devised creative ways of getting funding. Also, then we had personnel that were not galvanized enough to be up to the task. What is important, however, is that we have made a lot of progress. There were other factors that were brought to bear, which enhanced quick investigation by the Bureau,” he said. On the combining rail and maritime with air, which is multi-modal accident investigation, Oketunbi said the Bureau has enough trained personnel and if it wants more it would source from experienced persons on rail and maritime, but on air investigation, it has enough hands. He also disclosed that many of the personnel trained overseas on accident investigation were also exposed to air, maritime and rail; so, many of the Bureau’s technical personnel have the right skills to investigate the three modes of transportation. “We have more than enough personnel. For air transport, we have enough investigators to serve the whole Africa, but we have to address maritime and rail transport. The ab initio training our personnel were exposed to incorporated accident investigation in air, maritime and rail. However, all we need to do is to recruit those who have experiences in those two other areas. Over the years we have garnered experience in air accident investigation. All we need is to develop maritime and rail. The residual knowledge is there and the facilities are there,” Oketunbi said. He said that NSIB has been helping other countries in Africa in accident investigation. The Bureau deploys personnel whenever it is called upon by some countries on the continent, which it has Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with. “We are helping other countries to lift up their own investigation bodies. We have MoU with Benin Republic; that in case anything happens they contact us and we will go and help them. We also have MoU with Sao Tome and Principe. We had helped them conduct accident investigation and whenever they call us, we go and help them. We are still signing agreements with more countries and we have enough personnel we can deploy to conduct investigation for other nations in air transport,” Oketunbi also said. https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/07/07/anticipated-icao-audit-on-nigerias-aviation-industry-2 Curt Lewis