Flight Safety Information - August 24, 2023 No. 164   In This Issue : Incident: Vistara A20N and Vistara A20N at Delhi on Aug 23rd 2023, ATC operational error forces rejected takeoff : Incident: American A319 at Key West on Aug 21st 2023, rejected takeoff due engine failure : Embraer EMB-135BJ Legacy 600 - Fatal Accident (Russia) : Low staffing, more close calls: FAA responds to increased scrutiny on aviation safety : New Boeing 737 MAX supplier defect to delay aircraft deliveries : Surge In Airplane Near-Collisions Sparks $121 Million FAA Plan : Emirates Airplane Wing Gets Damaged At Nice Airport, Reports Suggest It Was Hit by a Drone : United Airlines in $30 mln settlement with quadriplegic man's family : EASA warns of potential Boeing 787 Trent 1000 LPT blade assembly cracks : Indian pilots to unite to raise fatigue woes after colleague's pre-flight death : NASA is Helping to Develop a Mach 4 Passenger Jet Incident: Vistara A20N and Vistara A20N at Delhi on Aug 23rd 2023, ATC operational error forces rejected takeoff A Vistara Airbus A320-200N, registration VT-TYA performing flight UK-725 from Delhi to Bagdogra (India), was cleared for takeoff from Delhi's runway 29R and commenced their takeoff run. A Vistara Airbus A320-200N, registration VT-TNC performing flight UK-926 from Ahmedabad to Delhi (India), had landed on runway 29L and was cleared to cross runway 29R at about the same time when UK-725 was cleared for takeoff. When UK-926 crossed the hold short line tower realized the loss of separation on the runway and instructed UK-725 to abort takeoff. The crew complied and rejected takeoff at speed above 62 knots over ground. UK-926 continued taxi to the apron, UK-725 returned to the apron. UK-725, VT-TYA, was able to depart 3:45 hours after the rejected takeoff and reached Bagdogra with a delay of about 3:40 hours. India's DGCA confirmed both aircraft had been cleared at the same time, however, the controller took immediate action. He had momentarily forgotten about the crossing clearance when he cleared the takeoff. An investigation has been opened. https://avherald.com/h?article=50d6943a&opt=0 Incident: American A319 at Key West on Aug 21st 2023, rejected takeoff due engine failure An American Airlines Airbus A319-100, registration N8031M performing flight AA-1713 from Key West,FL to Charlotte,NC (USA), was accelerating for takeoff from Key West when the right hand engine (CFM56) emitted a fire ball and a loud bang prompting the crew to reject takeoff. The aircraft slowed safely. The FAA reported giving the tail number as N9026C, which made the flight successfully the following day, and stated: "AIRCRAFT ABORTED TAKEOIFF AFTER LOUD NOISE AND FIREBALL FROM RIGHT ENGINE, KEY WEST, FL." The aircraft is still on the ground in Key West about 35 hours after the rejected takeoff. https://avherald.com/h?article=50d67e8a&opt=0 Embraer EMB-135BJ Legacy 600 - Fatal Accident (Russia) Date: 23-AUG-2023 Time: 15:20 UTC Type: Embraer EMB-135BJ Legacy 600 Owner/operator: MNT-Aero, opf Wagner Group Registration: RA-02795 MSN: 14501008 Fatalities: Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Category: Accident Location: near Kuzhenkino, Tver Region - Russia Phase: En route Nature: Executive Departure airport: Moskva-Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO/UUEE) Destination airport: Saint Petersburg-Pulkovo Airport (LED/ULLI) Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources Narrative: An Embraer Legacy 600 jet crashed in a field near Kuzhenkino, Tver Region, Russia, and burst into flames. All three crew members and seven passengers have died. Among the passengers was Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group. The aircraft departed Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO) about 14:53 UTC on a flight to Saint Petersburg-Pulkovo Airport (LED). The flight climbed to an altitude of FL280. The aircraft crashed about 15:20 UTC close to the ODATI waypoint at the boundary of the Moscow FIR. Videos of the accident sequence posted on social media show an aircraft spiralling down with a white vapour/smoke trail. Other imagery shows the burning wreckage of the aircraft in a field. The tail section of the aircraft was located in a field away from the main wreckage. http://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/344845 Low staffing, more close calls: FAA responds to increased scrutiny on aviation safety Remember when a FedEx cargo plane was cleared to land on the same runway a Southwest jet was preparing for takeoff in Austin, Texas? Or the time a private plane took off at Boston Logan International Airport while a JetBlue flight was preparing to land on a conflicting runway? With headline-grabbing close calls and a recent New York Times investigation, aviation safety has been in the spotlight for months. According to Federal Aviation Administration data, near-miss accidents where planes nearly hit each other have increased nearly 25% in the last decade, with about 300 such accidents in the most recent 12-month period for which reports are available. "We're trying to take a bigger look and do some deeper analysis to see what's going on," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told USA TODAY back in March. "It's enough that I'm concerned." What is a near-miss incident? Near misses are essentially when airplanes get closer to each other than they should without coming into contact. These can happen on the ground or in the air, and while their numbers have increased in the last decade, the actual number of collisions remains low. How do near misses occur? Near misses in aviation are almost always the result of human error. Whether it’s a pilot flying or taxiing somewhere they’re not supposed to, or an air traffic controller clearing a plane to go somewhere that conflicts with another aircraft’s movement, these incidents don’t happen by themselves. Fortunately, especially for midair conflicts, commercial jets have sophisticated collision avoidance systems that instruct pilots how to maneuver their aircraft if another plane gets too close. What is being done to improve air traffic safety oversight? A big contributor to the rise in near misses seems to be understaffing at air traffic control centers, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents air traffic control employees. “Staffing shortages throughout the NAS have placed a tremendous amount of strain on air traffic controllers,” NATCA president Rich Santa said in a statement. “We saw the effect that air traffic controller staffing shortages had on air travel this summer, and although there has been an increased focus on training, the hiring process to overcome the staffing shortage takes years.” According to the union, air traffic controllers in many facilities are working mandatory overtime with 10-hour shifts six days per week. According to the FAA, the agency is working to increase and streamline hiring and improve training to get more controllers in towers around the country. “We recently completed a comprehensive review of the distribution of controllers, which was included in the Controller Workforce Plan submitted to Congress on May 5. Additionally, we are implementing the Air Traffic Operations Management System (ATOMS), a comprehensive system that will track controller timekeeping and various work assignments,” the agency said in a statement. The FAA also said it would invest $121 million to update infrastructure at some airports around the country to reduce the risk of runway incursions, one of the kinds of close calls that happen on the ground. The projects it's funding include taxiway reconfigurations and new lighting systems. Are near-miss incidents something I should worry about? Although near-miss incidents are up, aviation remains incredibly safe. As the FAA pointed out, there have been no fatal crashes in U.S. commercial passenger aviation since 2009. “The U.S. aviation system is the safest in the world, but one close call is one too many. The FAA and the aviation community are pursuing a goal of zero serious close calls, a commitment from the Safety Summit in March. The same approach virtually eliminated the risk of fatalities aboard U.S. commercial airlines,” the FAA said. However, aviation professionals are sounding the alarm that the strain on the safety system will only continue to get worse if it’s not addressed through hiring and other improvements. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2023/08/22/aviation-close-calls-faa-response/70652601007/ New Boeing 737 MAX supplier defect to delay aircraft deliveries Aug 23 (Reuters) - Boeing (BA.N) has recently identified a new 737 MAX quality problem involving supplier Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N) that has resulted in improperly drilled holes on the aft pressure bulkhead, the planemaker said on Wednesday. Boeing said the defect will delay near-term deliveries and the company is evaluating whether it could cause it to miss its annual delivery target of at least 400 737s this year. The new supply-chain snag is the latest issue to impede deliveries of the cash-generating MAX following Boeing's disclosure of a problem in April that Spirit had improperly installed brackets joining the aft fuselage to the vertical tail. Boeing confirmed that the latest issue will delay the first MAX 8 delivery to Malaysia Airlines, which had scheduled an Aug. 28 arrival event. Spirit said that because it uses multiple suppliers for the aft pressure bulkhead, not all 737 fuselages are impacted by the new "elongated" hole problem. "Based upon what we know now, we believe there will not be a material impact to our delivery range for the year related to this issue," Spirit said. So far, Boeing believes the defect is limited to a portion of its bestselling MAX 8 model, but the company is evaluating whether older-model 737 Next Generation jets are also impacted. It is unclear how many jets will need to be fixed, and how long it takes to complete rework will vary depending on the condition of the aircraft, Boeing said. "We continue to deliver 737s that are not affected," said Boeing, which said the issue was "recently" discovered but did not provide further clarification. Spirit said it has implemented changes to its manufacturing processes to correct the issue. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was aware of the issue, which does not affect safety of flight. Trade publication The Air Current first reported that Spirit was responsible for the work on the aft pressure bulkhead. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/new-boeing-737-max-supplier-defect-delay-aircraft-deliveries-2023-08-23/ Surge In Airplane Near-Collisions Sparks $121 Million FAA Plan TOPLINE The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded $121 million to various airport projects aimed at addressing an alarming increase of near-collisions between airplanes, the agency announced Wednesday morning. KEY FACTS The projects are designed to “reconfigure taxiways that may cause confusion, install new lighting systems and provide more flexibility on the airfield” with the goal of reducing near misses. Boston’s Logan International Airport tops the list with a $44.9 million project to simplify the airfield layout and restore pavement on some of the taxiways. $39.8 million will go to Alaska’s Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport for new lighting systems for taxiways as well as for plans to widen, extend and improve taxiways. D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport will get $5 million for new taxiways and to reconfigure other taxiways. Airports in and around Detroit; Toledo, Ohio; Richmond, Virginia; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and Naples, Florida will also receive millions of dollars each for projects on their taxiways. KEY BACKGROUND This investment comes amid warnings from the FAA of an alarming number of near-misses in recent months. A New York Times investigation has found an alarming number of near-collisions, including one on July 2 at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, when a Southwest Airlines pilot was forced to abort a landing at the last minute to avoid colliding with a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 preparing to take off on the same runway. And on July 11, an American Airlines jet accelerating down a runway in San Francisco at over 160 miles per hour narrowly missed a Frontier Airlines plane whose nose was jutting near its path in an incident the FAA described as “skin to skin” in internal records. In all, the Times discovered 46 close calls involving commercial airlines in July alone. Reuters also reported on a number of near-misses, including when a FedEx cargo plane flew within about 115 feet of a Southwest Boeing 737 this February during low visibility conditions in Austin, Texas. Still, collisions among airplanes remain extremely rare. TANGENT Near collisions aren’t the only aviation incidents that have made headlines in recent months. Last week, the engine on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 headed from Houston to Cancún caught flames shortly after takeoff, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing. Multiple videos circulating online captured the incident. Footage from the ground shows the engine bursting to flames and video taken by passengers through the passenger windows shows roaring flames coming out of the engine. No injuries or deaths were reported from the incident. https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/08/23/surge-in-airplane-near-collisions-sparks-121-million-faa-plan/?sh=40c763d779e7 Emirates Airplane Wing Gets Damaged At Nice Airport, Reports Suggest It Was Hit by a Drone An Emirates Airlines Airbus A380-800 (registered as A6-EOM) has suffered wing damage, which was confirmed after landing at the Nice Airport in France, and reports suggest it might have been hit by a drone. According to the airline, the incident occurred on Friday, August 18, and a subsequent inspection after the landing revealed damage to a wing component responsible for increasing lift during low-speed flight, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. “Emirates can confirm that flight EK 77 from Dubai to Nice on August 18 landed normally and passengers and crew safely disembarked. Upon landing, engineers discovered some damage to a slat in the right wing, and the aircraft will remain on the ground to undergo further assessments. Safety is our highest priority and will not be compromised,” the airline said regarding the incident. While there were suspicions that the plane could have been hit by a drone, the Head of the Air Navigation Department at the DGAC Sud Est Bruno Boulay says that no proven evidence exists to support the suspicions. As Boulay explains, the incident was reported while the aircraft was still on the ground during the thrust phase. He also explains that the pilot communicated with the control tower, alerting them to a problem preventing a subsequent takeoff. In addition, the Bureau of Research and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) in France has admitted its involvement in the investigation of this incident. However, the agency is still unable to definitively confirm whether a drone played a role in the incident. Starting on August 19, 2023, three different Emirates Airbus A380s have undertaken flights under the designation EK77 to Nice Airport. These include aircraft with registration codes A6-EOB, A6-EEC, and A6-EEV. Based on data from Ch-aviation, an Airbus A380 with registration A6-EOM was delivered by Airbus in August 2015. Meanwhile, its inaugural flight took place on March 10 2015. Moreover, during its operational history, the A6-EOM has accumulated a total of 29,829 flight hours and 3,061 flight cycles. The aircraft also underwent a storage period between March 2020 and May 2021, during which Ch-aviation records show a lack of registered flight hours and flight cycles. There was also a marked decrease in activity in March 2020 compared to the previous month. At the same time, a similar pattern emerged between June 2022 and October 2022. Similarly, on August 21, an Air France Airbus A319 aircraft registered as F-GRHY was ready for flight from Paris Orly Airport in France to Algeria when an incident occurred while pushing from the gate at Orly Airport. This incident resulted in damage to the aircraft’s nose gear, causing the airline to decide to cancel the scheduled flight. In response to the situation, the airline’s mechanics began repair work. https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/drone-hits-emirates-airplane-while-landing-in-frances-nice-airport/ United Airlines in $30 mln settlement with quadriplegic man's family Aug 23 (Reuters) - United Airlines (UAL.O) has agreed to a $30 million settlement after a deplaning incident left a quadriplegic man in a vegetative state, court papers show. The settlement with the family of Nathaniel Foster Jr, known as N.J., was disclosed on Tuesday in San Francisco federal court, and reached after one day of trial. It arose from the treatment of Foster, who had been using a wheelchair, ventilator and tracheal tube, as he and his family were disembarking from a Feb. 8, 2019 United Express flight to Monroe, Louisiana, where they had traveled to attend a funeral. The family said a ramp supervisor "aggressively" and "forcefully" pushed Foster, causing his body to jerk forward and then slouch back, with his feet dragging along the floor. According to a complaint, Foster's mother sought help after she heard him whisper "I can't breathe," but a gate agent "giggled" and told a surgeon who offered help "we got this," prompting him to sit down. Foster then went into cardiac arrest. Now 26, Foster has "significant" brain damage, cannot speak or eat solid foods, and is expected to live to age 31-1/2, down from 39 before the incident, court papers show. The settlement requires court approval, and is "fair and reasonable" according to the plaintiffs. They have been caring for Foster at their home in Pleasant Hill, California. "Our top priority is to provide a safe journey for all our customers, especially those who require additional assistance or the use of a wheelchair," United said in a statement Wednesday. "We are pleased to share that this matter has settled." Lawyers for Foster's family did not immediately respond to requests for comment. About $12 million from the settlement would cover legal fees, and $3 million would cover other costs. The case is Foster et al v United Airlines Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-02530. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/united-airlines-30-mln-settlement-with-quadriplegic-mans-family-2023-08-23/ EASA warns of potential Boeing 787 Trent 1000 LPT blade assembly cracks EASA is issuing an AD to address cracking of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 LPT stage 1 blade assemblies The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) to address a potential unsafe condition on the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine, which affects the low-pressure turbine (LPT) stage 1 blade assemblies. According to the AD, Rolls-Royce issued an Alert Non-Modification Service Bulletin (NMSB) Trent 1000 72-AK919, which affects several modifications of the same engine, exclusively used on the Boeing 787, prompting the directive. According to the European regulator, the LPT stage 1 blade assemblies, Part Number (P/N) FW68788, consisting of a pair of blades welded together at the outer shroud, are affected by the latest directive. EASA pointed out that there have been reports of cracks and separation “in the weld region on a small number of affected parts during engine inspections”. “If a significant number of blade pairs in a blade set are separated, this could change the vibration characteristics of the LPT stage 1 blade set and lead to the release of blade material during engine running,” EASA continued. As a result, this could cause secondary damage to the LPT module and subsequent in-flight engine shutdown, which could result in “reduced control of the aeroplane”, the regulator added. Inspections of the Trent 1000 LPT EASA requires operators to inspect and, if needed, replace the affected parts. Airlines will have to conduct inspections of the Trent 1000 LPT either in the shop or while the engine is still on the wing at LPT stage 1 blade assemblies before the part exceeds 30,000 Flight Hours (FH) since first being installed on the engine or within 90 days of the effective date of the AD. Thereafter, inspections must be carried out within intervals to not exceed 4,500 FHs. For those parts that have reached or exceeded the FH threshold and are installed on engines in a repair shop on the effective date of the directive, EASA mandates inspections before the engine is released back into service. However, if any cracks or separation are found while the inspections are done on an on-wing engine, but not on more than 32 blade pairs, inspection timings need to be adjusted according to the Rolls-Royce NMSB. EASA said that operators will need to replace the affected parts with new LPT stage 1 blade assemblies during each shop visit after the effective date of the AD. However, the regulator has also allowed airlines to use serviceable parts on their engines. The European authority defines serviceable LPT stage 1 blade assemblies as those not previously installed or have fewer than 30,000 FHs since their installation on an engine, as well as those that have passed an inspection. Meanwhile, a serviceable LPT disk “is one that meets the acceptance criteria as specified in the current Engine Manual T-Trent-10RR”. The directive’s effective date is September 5, 2023. According to ch-aviation.com data, 372 Boeing 787 aircraft are either actively flying, in storage, or in maintenance equipped with the Trent 1000 engine. This figure does not include the pair of ex-Norwegian Boeing 787-8s, registered as VP-CVL and VP-CVM, which were dismantled at Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK). https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/easa-boeing-787-lpt-blade-ad Indian pilots to unite to raise fatigue woes after colleague's pre-flight death NEW DELHI, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Indian airline pilots plan to form an association to challenge flying duty regulations they say cause fatigue and jeopardise safety after an IndiGo pilot collapsed and died before his flight. Former pilots have taken to social media and newspaper columns to publicly raise concerns that airlines, though operating within regulatory frameworks, are stretching them to the brink as air travel booms in India. The sudden death last week of an IndiGo (INGL.NS) pilot heightened those worries although India's biggest airline says he had a 27-hour break before duty and was in good health. Captain Shakti Lumba, a retired vice president at IndiGo, has garnered the support of hundreds of pilots who plan to come together with an existing group of 600 to raise awareness and lodge concerns over fatigue with authorities and airlines. "The main focus of the group will be compliance with international standards and recommended practices, flight safety and pilot fatigue - which is a clear and present danger to (the) safety of aircraft operations in India," said Lumba, who was involved in setting up IndiGo's operations from 2005. India's aviation watchdog did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. In the United States, regulators allow flights manned by two pilots to serve maximum duty time of 14 hours during the day and 9-10 hours for late-night flights. India does not differentiate on the basis of day or night-time and allows pilots to be on duty for 13 hours within a 24-hour span. While airline pilot fatigue is a global problem, India is uniquely at the heart of the matter as the world's fastest-growing aviation market, where hundreds of new planes are on order by IndiGo and Tata group-owned Air India. About a dozen Indian pilots with whom Reuters spoke in recent weeks shared worries not just about work hours but flight schedules they say are erratic and worsened sometimes by consecutive late-night departures without sufficient rest. A Reuters review of a chat group with over 400 pilots showed growing stress after the IndiGo pilot's death. One pilot wrote "consecutive midnights are a killer", while another said "it's time to start fixing things that are ailing Indian aviation". India's Vistara airline told Reuters that management of fatigue - which it says it has kept at among the lowest levels in the industry - remains a high "focus area". Vistara said duty timings for pilots are planned well within the norms to accommodate any unforeseen disruptions. IndiGo, which operates 1,900 flights a day, said it has a comprehensive fatigue management system which tracks various parameters in line with international best practices. Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told Reuters in March that the government wants India, the world's most populous country, to become a global aviation hub and foresees "an explosion of air traffic". https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-pilots-unite-raise-fatigue-woes-after-colleagues-pre-flight-death-2023-08-22/ NASA is Helping to Develop a Mach 4 Passenger Jet The concept of supersonic transport (SST) has been a part of the commercial flight and aerospace sector since the 1970s. But as the Concorde demonstrated, the technology’s commercial viability has always been hampered by various challenges. For starters, supersonic planes must limit their speed to about 965 km/h (600 mph) over land to prevent damage caused by their sonic booms. Given the potential for flying from New York City to London in about 3.5 hours, which otherwise takes about 8 hours on average, aerospace engineers hope to overcome this problem. Since 2006, the NASA Commercial Supersonic Technology Project (CSTP) has been researching SST as part of its QueSST mission and the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft to reduce sonic booms, thus removing a crucial barrier to commercial development. Recently, NASA investigated whether commercial supersonic jets could theoretically travel from one major city to another at speeds between Mach 2 and 4 – 2,470 to 4,940 km/h (1,535 to 3,045 mph) at sea level. These studies concluded that there are potential passenger markets along 50 established routes, which could revolutionize air travel. The QueSST mission aims to provide aviation regulators like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with data that will help change the rules regarding overland supersonic flight. The U.S. and other nations currently prohibit supersonic flights over land, which is why the studies’ findings covered trans-oceanic travel. This included high-volume North Atlantic routes connecting North America to Europe, Africa, and Eurasia and trans-Pacific flights connecting to Asia. Lori Ozoroski, the project manager for NASA’s CSTP, explained in a recent NASA press release: “We conducted similar concept studies over a decade ago at Mach 1.6-1.8, and those resulting roadmaps helped guide NASA research efforts since, including those leading to the X-59,” “These new studies will both refresh those looks at technology roadmaps and identify additional research needs for a broader high-speed range.” With these studies complete, NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program (AAVP) is now moving ahead with the next phase of the research. This program conducts studies to evaluate and create technologies that could lead to new aircraft systems and advanced concepts that promise to revolutionize air travel. The next phase will involve issuing two 12-month contracts to companies to produce designs and technology roadmaps for their realization. Each team will be led by a major aerospace developer and will include commercial and research partners offering technical expertise. They include: Team Boeing: Boeing Commercial Airplanes (lead), Exosonic GE Aerospace, Georgia Tech Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory, Rolls-Royce North American Technologies, and others. Team Northrop Grumman: Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems (lead), Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, Boom Supersonic, and Rolls-Royce North American Technologies. Each team will be responsible for exploring air travel possibilities, outlining risks and challenges, and identifying the technologies necessary to make their concepts a reality. They will also be required to include detailed descriptions of the concept elements, including the airframe, power, propulsion, thermal management, and composite materials – all of which must be able to endure high-supersonic speeds. Said Mary Jo Long-Davis, the manager of NASA’s Hypersonic Technology Project (HTP): “The design concepts and technology roadmaps are really important to have in our hands when the companies are finished. We are also collectively conscious of the need to account for safety, efficiency, economic, and societal considerations. It’s important to innovate responsibly so we return benefits to travelers and do no harm to the environment.” In April last year, NASA reported that they had finished crucial ground tests on the X-59 airframe. These happened over several months at the NASA/FAA North Texas Research Station (NTX) in Fort Worth, Texas. The airframe was then returned to Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, where it received its supersonic jet engine by the following November. As of June 2023, the aircraft has been moved into a new phase of ground testing on the flight line (the space between the hangar and the runway) to ensure it is ready to fly. These efforts parallel those of commercial space companies like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and others hoping to realize suborbital and transcontinental flights with their spaceplanes and spacecraft in the near future. Whether it’s taking place in the air lanes above major cities or in space, the future of transportation promises to be very advanced and very rapid! https://www.universetoday.com/162879/nasa-is-helping-to-develop-a-mach-4-passenger-jet/ Curt Lewis