Flight Safety Information - July 27, 2023 No. 144 In This Issue : Incident: Envoy E170 at Fargo on Jul 23rd 2023, need a tow off the runway : Incident: Vueling A320 at Tel Aviv on Jul 26th 2023, bird strike : Incident: Marabu/Nordica A320N at Malaga and Munich on Jul 17th 2023, engine heat damage and puncture : Bird strike caused T-38 jet crash last November, investigators say : Saudi Arabian F-15SA fighter jet crashes during exercise, killing crew aboard : After Boeing Max crashes, U.S. regulators detail safety information that aircraft makers must disclose : Southwest Passenger Facing Federal Charges for Allegedly Grabbing Flight Attendant and Demanding a Kiss : American Airlines Takes Delivery Of 50th Boeing 737 MAX 8 : Airlines face doubling in war insurance premiums after Sudan losses : DEMAND FOR PILOTS REBOUNDS IN NEW BOEING FORECAST :FAA Tightens Certification Oversight : No Chat GPT In The FAA Incident: Envoy E170 at Fargo on Jul 23rd 2023, need a tow off the runway An Envoy Embraer ERJ-170 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N868RW performing flight AA-3681 from Chicago O'Hare,IL to Fargo,ND (USA), was descending towards Fargo when the crew advised they would need a tow off the runway and would probably need to shut down on the runway, however, no other assistance was needed. Fargo Tower instructed another aircraft on approach to fly a 360 due to an incoming emergency effectively pulling that aircraft off the downwind for a visual approach. The ERJ landed on runway 18, vacated the runway and taxied to the apron without stop. The aircraft remained on the ground in Fargo for about 46 hours, then positioned back to Chicago and resumed service. https://avherald.com/h?article=50c42a8e&opt=0 Incident: Vueling A320 at Tel Aviv on Jul 26th 2023, bird strike A Vueling Airbus A320-200, registration EC-MUM performing flight VY-7845 from Tel Aviv (Israel) to Barcelona,SP (Spain), was climbing out of Ben Gurion Airport's runway 26 when the aircraft sustained a bird strike causing a cracked windshield. The crew stopped the climb at about FL190 and returned to Tel Aviv for a safe landing on runway 12 about 40 minutes after departure. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Tel Aviv about 16 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=50c42676&opt=0 Incident: Marabu/Nordica A320N at Malaga and Munich on Jul 17th 2023, engine heat damage and puncture A Nordica Airbus A320-200N on behalf of Marabu, registration ES-MBA performing flight DI-6025 from Malaga,SP (Spain) to Munich (Germany), was climbing out of Malaga's runway 13 when the crew received an engine fire indication for the right hand engine (PW1127G), the indication ceased a few moments later. The crew decided to continue the flight, climbed to FL340 and later FL360 and landed safely on runway 26L about 2:20 hours after departure from Malaga. A post flight inspection revealed the right hand engine had sustained considerable heat damage. The airline reported the occurrence was reported to the Estonian Civil Aviation Authority supervising the Estonian Airline. The crew worked the related protocols in flight which resulted that all engine indications were normal and therefore continued the flight, there was no danger to passengers or crew. An engine fuel igniter came loose during the flight of Jul 17th 2023 permitting hot gasses to exit the engine core causing soot. The engine was not on fire, however, became damaged. Due to non-availability of spare parts the aircraft is not estimated to return to service before August/September 2023. According to information The Aviation Herald received there had been brief fire indications for the right hand engine before the occurrence flight already which were deemed "spurious indications" often not lasting more than a split second. During the departure from Malaga there had been a brief engine fire warning as confirmed by internal mails within the airline. Marabu Airlines based in Tallinn (Estonia) started operations in April 2023 taking over a number of former Condor flights, the tickets for the flights are being sold by Condor. Nordica based in Tallinn (Estonia) operates since Nov 2015. https://avherald.com/h?article=50c42088&opt=0 Bird strike caused T-38 jet crash last November, investigators say A T-38C Talon training jet crashed in eastern Mississippi last November after a bird collided with its windshield — shattering the canopy, breaking its engines and prompting the lone pilot to eject, an Air Force investigation has concluded. The pilot, an instructor with the 49th Fighter Training Squadron at Mississippi’s Columbus Air Force Base, sustained minor injuries but safely escaped the hobbled aircraft. The jet, valued at $8.5 million, was destroyed. It was an “unavoidable” incident that the experienced airman handled well, Col. Michael Driscoll, who led the investigation into the accident, said in a final report published July 18. The run-in occurred during a routine training flight on Nov. 7, 2022, as the pilot set out to brush up on his tactical skills alongside another T-38. The “large” bird slammed into the pilot’s cockpit as he moved into formation behind his wingman, a few minutes after the pair took off from Columbus that afternoon, the report said. “Pieces of the shattered canopy were ingested into both engines,” Driscoll wrote in the report. “The left engine immediately failed, and shortly after stopped spinning or working altogether.” The right engine turbine could still turn but lacked enough thrust to keep the jet stable and aloft. Unable to control the plane’s flight path, the pilot ejected and landed in a tree. The jet crashed 22 miles south of the base. “Post-mishap engine analysis confirmed that the left engine experienced extensive damage,” the report said. “All of the stage 2 blades were sheared at the blade root. … The amount of shrapnel, composed of compressor hardware, was the cause for the left engine seizure during flight. “Smaller pieces of the canopy and/or pieces of the bird entered the right engine … which caused the compressor stall.” Bird strikes typically cause several dozen aircraft mishaps each year, according to the Air Force Safety Center, though most don’t lead to heavy damage or death. Columbus was following regular bird strike prevention and awareness protocols at the time of the mishap, and the pilot knew the risk that birds posed to his jet, the report said. The Air Force’s fleet of around 500 supersonic T-38s are primarily used to prepare airmen to fly fighter and bomber planes. The service typically loses at least one in a major accident each year, according to Safety Center data. “Air Education and Training Command officials take every measure to ensure the safety of aircrews, while delivering superior flight training for the Air Force,” the command said in a release. “AETC is committed to using the lessons learned from this investigation to prevent similar mishaps from happening again.” https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2023/07/26/bird-strike-caused-t-38-jet-crash-last-november-investigators-say/ Saudi Arabian F-15SA fighter jet crashes during exercise, killing crew aboard DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Saudi F-15SA fighter jet crashed during a training exercise Wednesday, killing the crew on board, the kingdom said. A statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency said the crash happened near the King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, some 815 kilometers (506 miles) southwest of the capital, Riyadh. Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Turki al-Malki said in the statement that an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the crash. The F-15SA is a two-seat fighter jet. Saudi Arabia did not immediately acknowledge the number of those killed in the crash. The Royal Saudi Air Force flies dozens of the McDonnell Douglas fighter jet in its fleet. https://apnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-f15-crash-f2f8acc80e4438f8a076825ce3dc3cb0 After Boeing Max crashes, U.S. regulators detail safety information that aircraft makers must disclose The Federal Aviation Administration, which was heavily criticized for the way it approved the Boeing 737 Max before two deadly crashes, says it is more clearly explaining the kind of critical safety information that must be disclosed to the agency. The FAA said Wednesday that two draft policy documents spell out the process for considering certification of new, large passenger planes. The documents also guide manufacturers on disclosing any design changes that significantly affect information already submitted to FAA, the agency said. It is generally accepted in the aviation industry that certification of new planes will be more difficult and take longer after the Boeing Max debacle. The FAA certified the 737 Max in 2017 without understanding a critical flight-control system, according to the Transportation Department’s inspector general and a panel of international aviation experts. They also found that Boeing withheld information about the automated system, which malfunctioned when it got faulty sensor readings before the two crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people in all. During development of the Max, Boeing changed the automated system to make it more powerful, but never told airlines and pilots about it. Critics inside and outside of government said FAA needed to improve its certification process. Some of them accused the FAA of being too cozy with Boeing, which under a longstanding FAA policy has broad authority for analyzing safety of its own planes. In 2020, Congress passed a law to reform the FAA’s certification process, including more protection for whistleblowers and new civil penalties if managers interfere with safety-oversight work done by employees of aircraft-manufacturing companies. The FAA said it will take public comments on the new draft policy until Aug. 25. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/after-boeing-max-crashes-u-s-regulators-detail-safety-information-that-aircraft-makers-must-disclose Southwest Passenger Facing Federal Charges for Allegedly Grabbing Flight Attendant and Demanding a Kiss William Morgan was charged with two federal counts of simple assault after a complaint was filed by an FBI agent Friday A man is now facing federal charges after he allegedly grabbed two flight attendants and tried to kiss them on a Southwest flight from Palm Springs to Las Vegas in October 2022. On Friday, an FBI special agent filed a complaint against the man with the U.S. District Court of Nevada, according to documents first obtained by The Daily Beast. The man was then charged with two counts of simple assault, USA Today reported. The suspect, William Morgan, allegedly got out of his seat 20 minutes before the plane touched the ground and approached the flight attendant in her jump seat in the back, according to the complaint. "[The victim] got up from her jump seat, at which point Morgan put his arms on her shoulders and demanded a kiss again before stating that he was going to have a panic attack if [the flight attendant] did not go into the bathroom with him,” the complaint reads. The flight attendant pushed Morgan away and called the phone in the cabin for assistance, as she “felt her life was in serious danger,” according to the complaint. A second flight attendant ran to the back of the plane in response to the call to assist and attempted to calm Morgan, according to the document. However, Morgan then “grabbed” the second flight attendant’s shoulders and said he needed the first flight attendant to “kiss him to calm down." He then allegedly "grabbed" the first flight attendant's face and "squeezed hard while trying to kiss her." The second flight attendant said she was “scared for her life” and “concerned for other passengers," according to the complaint. Three other men among the 100 passengers aboard the aircraft were able to “physically restrain” Morgan until they landed at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. "To my knowledge, the flight was not delayed, but the flight attendants were unable to conduct final landing checks" because of the suspect's behavior, the FBI agent wrote in the complaint. The second flight attendant stayed in the aisle to "ensure that Morgan would not be a safety risk to other passengers." https://people.com/southwest-passenger-charged-allegedly-grabbing-flight-attendant-demanding-kiss-7566205 American Airlines Takes Delivery Of 50th Boeing 737 MAX 8 The carrier still has another 80 MAXs on order. • American Airlines recently received its 50th Boeing 737 MAX 8, nearly six years after its first MAX arrived. • The airline plans to eventually operate a fleet of 130 MAXs, with 80 still to be delivered. • The first American Airlines MAX was delivered almost six years ago. • Close American inducts 50th MAX The carrier reached the milestone of 50 737 MAX 8s following the delivery of N319TE last week. The narrowbody flew from Boeing Field (BFI) in Seattle to American's hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) on July 19th. The brand-new jet departed Boeing Field at 14:08, over two hours later than scheduled, and landed at Dallas/Fort Worth at 19:29. As of n,ow eight 737 MAX have delivered to American so far in 2023, with six of those arriving since the beginning of June. After suffering production and quality control issues earlier this year, Boeing got back on track with deliveries in May, flying 35 MAXs to customers that month, rising to 48 in June. American and the MAX Since firming up options for another 30 jets, American will eventually operate a fleet of 130 MAXs, meaning there are still 80 to be delivered. The carrier recently said it will take delivery of a total of 23 planes in 2023, of which 13 have already arrived. This leaves 10 to go, and two of these are believed to be MAXs. American welcomed the first MAX 8 into its fleet in September 2017 and went on to operate over 20 MAXs by the end of 2018. Following the second MAX crash involving Ethiopian Airlines in March 2019, American had to wait over 18 months for another MAX delivery, which eventually came in December 2020. The airline's MAXs can seat up to 172 passengers in a two-class configuration - 16 in business and 156 in economy. Highest quarterly revenues, pilot negotiations American posted its highest-ever quarterly revenues for Q2 2023, generating $14.1 billion - this is over $500 million more than the same period in 2022. However, shares went down by 6% on the day of its earnings call after the airline provided an underwhelming guidance for the next quarter. Additionally, in light of United Airlines' deal with its pilots, American has raised its contract offer to its own pilots, inevitably adding to its operational costs - the new offer, matching United's rates, will amount to around $9 billion over the next four years. Its pilot union was due to vote on a previous offer by July 24th but has now suspended the ratification vote until "a date and time to be determined." https://simpleflying.com/american-airlines-50-boeing-737-max-8/ Airlines face doubling in war insurance premiums after Sudan losses LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) - Airlines could end up paying twice as much for insurance they need to protect themselves against losses triggered by war after a bruising year wiped out aviation war insurers' revenue for 2023, industry sources say. Aircraft were destroyed at Khartoum airport in a conflict between military factions in Sudan that erupted earlier this year, resulting in losses of between $240 and $300 million, according to three aviation insurance sources. The losses incurred in Sudan represented the total global annual premium in the niche aviation war insurance market, two of the sources said. Insurers are as a result weighing a potential doubling of the premiums on such policies when airlines typically renew cover in the fourth quarter, the sources said. The sources declined to be named due to client confidentiality. Insurers are already feeling the pinch as they face legal action for up to $10 billion in claims from around 400 aircraft stuck in Russia after sanctions on the country following its invasion of Ukraine last year. Some have since cut back on aviation war coverage to minimise future losses amid the conflict. The exposure to losses from Ukraine and Sudan has fed through to the reinsurance market. Reinsurers insure the insurers, who typically pass on any extra payments for reinsurance to their customers. Some types of aviation war reinsurance saw rates rise by up to 100% at the key July 1 renewal date, according to a report this month by broker Gallagher Re. Most aviation war cover is provided by players in specialist insurance market Lloyd's of London, such as Lancashire (LRE.L) and Atrium. Lancashire declined to comment and Atrium did not immediately respond. Airlines cannot operate without war insurance, according to industry experts. The policies can protect them against a range of incidents including confiscation of aircraft or being shot down from the air. The aviation war insurance market saw a surge in prices in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001. Premiums then gradually fell for many years, in line with a broader softening in insurance rates and a slowdown in claims. But that pricing trend has changed in recent years. Two aviation war insurance buyers that are members of British trade body Airmic said aviation war premiums doubled in 2022, an Airmic spokesperson said, following the war in Ukraine. One insurance buyer expected to see a further doubling of rates this year, though the other saw a smaller increase, due to competition in the market, the spokesperson added. An aviation insurer who declined to be named also said underwriters were looking for 100% increases in aviation war rates this year, but added that airlines' brokers were pushing back against such large rises. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/airlines-face-doubling-war-insurance-premiums-after-sudan-losses-sources-2023-07-26/ DEMAND FOR PILOTS REBOUNDS IN NEW BOEING FORECAST MECHANICS, CREW, OTHER PROFESSIONALS ALSO NEEDED Commercial aviation will need 649,000 pilots, 690,000 technicians, and 938,000 cabin crewmembers over the next 20 years, Boeing Co. forecast in the Pilot and Technician Outlook 2023–2042 released July 25 at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin. This year marks the first increase in the annual forecast since the pandemic cratered air travel in 2020. The report, which tracks the need for personnel among commercial airlines and commercial freight, said domestic air travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels and international travel is expected to return by 2024. Chris Broom, vice president of commercial training solutions, cited growth in emerging markets and retirements and attrition in the North American market as factors in growing demand for pilots and other aviation personnel. “The challenge for North American airlines will continue to be inspiring, developing, and training the next generation of pilots to fill the gap left by retirements and attrition,” he said. More than a quarter of the commercial pilot workforce will reach mandatory retirement age in the next decade, according to Boeing. The need to train and recruit more pilots has driven an increase in pilot cadet programs and flow-through programs at flight schools, business and general aviation operators, regional airlines, and major airlines, Broom said. Boeing supports flight schools and universities with training curricula and is investing in early career training materials, Broom said. The company is also supporting science, technology, engineering, and math education to spark an interest in aviation careers. “For us, diversity is not only the right thing to do. It’s a business imperative,” he said. “We have to cast a wider net to meet this pilot demand in the future.” On July 24, the company announced $500,000 in scholarships to be administered through AOPA, the Latino Pilots Association, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Sisters of the Skies, and Women in Aviation International. An additional $450,000 will go to Fly Compton, a California nonprofit that introduces minority youth to career opportunities in aerospace. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2023/july/26/demand-for-pilots-rebounds-in-new-boeing-forecast FAA Tightens Certification Oversight The FAA says it will require aircraft manufacturers to disclose the fine details of changes to safety-critical systems during the certification process for new aircraft. The agency told Reuters it will “establish milestones throughout the certification process that will help the agency assess whether any design changes to airplane systems should be considered novel or unusual, and therefore require additional scrutiny.” Comments will be accepted on the proposed news policies until Aug. 25. The new policies are a direct result of the numerous probes into the FAA and Boeing’s actions during certification of the 737 MAX. Boeing engineers failed to disclose the impact of changes made to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, which was a key factor in the crash of two MAXes. House and Senate investigation reports told the FAA it needed better oversight of certification. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-tightens-certification-oversight/ No Chat GPT In The FAA The FAA has issued a statement saying it does not use Chat GPT to help write computer code in its air traffic operations (ATO) or in any other systems. The agency hastily issued the statement after the Department of Transportation published a list of AI use throughout its organization. The list is required for compliance with an executive order mandating the enumeration of any and all AI use in government reports. The inclusion of three uses of Chat GPT within the ATO was reported by FedScoop and resulted in a quick response from the agency. “The FAA does NOT use Chat GPT in any of its systems, including air traffic systems,” the FAA told FedScoop. “The entry was made in error and has been updated.” The DOT list said the FAA used Chat GPT for something called “Automated Delay Detection using voice processing” and to classify incident reports. But perhaps the most alarming reference was the DOT’s assertion that the FAA used Chat GPT to help write computer code for the ATO. FreshScoop says Chat GPT is notoriously bad at writing code, quoting an Australian expert on the subject as saying it often produces “buggy” and insecure code. The DOT has since removed the references from its list of AI applications https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/no-chat-gpt-in-the-faa/ Curt Lewis