Flight Safety Information - September 12, 2023 No. 176 In This Issue : Accident: Hawaiian A332 enroute on Sep 8th 2023, turbulence injures passengers : Incident: UPS B763 near Boston on Sep 7th 2023, fumes in cockpit : Incident: British Airways A320 at Sofia on Sep 10th 2023, flaps locked : Nigeria Scores 70% in ICAO Safety Standard in Air Transport Sector : Ural Airlines airbus with 159 passengers onboard lands in a field in Siberia : Thanks to staffing troubles at the FAA, an aviation catastrophe is just waiting to happen : NTSB: Plane that came to rest on 1 engine suffered a broken pin inside landing gear : Replacement plane sent to India to pick up PM, delegation after maintenance issue : Petition Asks FAA to Credit MQ-9 Pilot Hours Towards Certifications : Hundreds of Airmen Stuck Waiting To Start Pilot Training As Shortage Persists : Air Force to fall nearly 150 pilots short of annual training goal : GRADUATE RESEARCH REQUEST Accident: Hawaiian A332 enroute on Sep 8th 2023, turbulence injures passengers A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200, registration N370HA performing flight HA-864 from Tokyo Haneda (Japan) to Honolulu,HI (USA) with 257 passengers and 13 crew, was climbing out of Tokyo when the crew stopped the climb at FL270 after the aircraft had experienced turbulence at about FL265 causing injuries to a number of passengers. The aircraft returned to Haneda for a safe landing on runway 34R about 95 minutes after departure. None of the four injured passengers needed to be taken to hospital. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 3 hours, then departed again and reached Honolulu with a delay of 4.5 hours. Japan's Ministry of Transport reported four passengers received minor injuries when the aircraft encountered turbulence. The aircraft returned to Haneda, none of the injured needed to be taken to hospitals. The Ministry is investigating the occurrence. The airline reported following the turbulence the crew received indication of a possible engine (Trent 772) fault. The FAA reported 4 passengers received minor injuries when the aircraft encountered turbulence. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=50e425a2&opt=0 Incident: UPS B763 near Boston on Sep 7th 2023, fumes in cockpit A UPS United Parcel Service Boeing 767-300, registration N338UP performing flight 5X-2206 from Philadelphia,PA to Boston,MA (USA), was on approach to Boston when the crew declared emergency reporting fumes in the cockpit. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Boston's runway 22L about 5 minutes later. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY DUE TO FUMES IN THE COCKPIT AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS." The aircraft returned to service about 24 hours after landing. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=50e426c6&opt=0 Incident: British Airways A320 at Sofia on Sep 10th 2023, flaps locked A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-MIDS performing flight BA-893 from Sofia (Bulgaria) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was climbing out of Sofia's runway 09 when the crew stopped the climb at FL200 maintaining speeds below 360 knots over ground and requested to enter a hold at FL200. The crew reported the flaps were retracted but were locked, hence they needed to do a high speed landing. The aircraft returned to Sofia for a landing on runway 09 at a higher than normal speed (about 180 knots over ground) about 55 minutes after departure. The aircraft is still on the ground in Sofia about 24 hours after landing back. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=50e3e2bb&opt=0 Nigeria Scores 70% in ICAO Safety Standard in Air Transport Sector The country scored 90% in legislation, 89% in accident investigation and 56% in aerodrome ground aid After 12 days of rigorous scrutiny of the nation’s aviation sector, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has scored Nigeria 70 per cent in its initial report of the Universal Safety Audit Program Continuous Monitoring Approach (USOAP)- CMA that was concluded on Monday. The audit involved the inspection, monitoring, and review of the regulatory standards that guide the activities of the critical aviation agencies in line with ICAO recommended standards and practices. The 70 per cent score is three per cent higher than the last audit which was carried out in 2016, where the nation scored 67.1 per cent, a positive development following the nation’s safety compliance. The audit which took place between August 30 and September 11, 2023, focused on Nigeria’s capability in providing safety oversight by assessing whether the country has implemented the critical elements (CEs) of a safety oversight system effectively and consistently. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) represents Nigeria and was the focus of the audit. According to ICAO, the audit enables the country to ensure the implementation of ICAO’s safety-related Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and associated procedures and guidance material and also provides ICAO with a means to continuously monitor the States’ fulfilment of their safety oversight obligations. Breakdown of some of the audit reports showed that the CAA in Legislation scored 90 per cent, a reduction from the 95 per cent it scored in the last audit while it scored 83 per cent in organisation, compared to its 100 percent score last time around. In the area of Personnel Licencing, the NCAA scored 84 per cent while it scored 62 per cent in operations compared to its last score of 57 per cent. For Airworthiness, the NCAA scored 94 per cent compared to its previous 90 per cent in the last audit while the audit for Accident Investigation got a resounding 89 per cent, five points up from its previous 84 percent score. In the area of Aerodrome and Ground Aids the country scored 56 per cent while for Air Navigation Services it scored 44 per cent. The audit final report was produced by the Safety and Air Navigation Oversight Audit Section (OAS) after reviewing and incorporating Nigeria’s comments to the draft audit report; it submitted it to the Chief, OAS and Deputy Director, Monitoring and Oversight (MO) for approval; thereafter sent it to Nigeria according to the timeline defined in the Memorandum of Understanding; and published on the USOAP CMA Online Framework (OLF). Although the score was good for the country, industry insiders said Nigeria could do better, as ICAO listed State Corrective Action Plans (CAPs). It advised that upon receipt of the draft report, State may start to prepare the Corrective Action Plans, but upload them onto the OLF (Online Framework only after receipt of the final report. “All points of findings are addressed, including associated implementation; CAPs include sufficient details to enable effective resolution of findings. ICAO also stated that the Appropriate Action Office is identified in the CAPs; and the Realistic Estimated Date of Implementation is provided for all actions (short-, medium- and long-term). “In other words, the gaps found in the audit ought to be corrected by the state (NCAA) and those gaps have been identified and realistic for the implementation of the gaps provided in the short term, medium term and long term, creating enough time for the NCAA to fully close the gaps.” https://www.arise.tv/nigeria-scores-70-in-icao-safety-standard-in-air-transport-sector/ Ural Airlines airbus with 159 passengers onboard lands in a field in Siberia Russian officials say all passengers and the six crew walked away uninjured from the aircraft. It was flying from the Black Sea town of Sochi to Omsk in Siberia when it was forced to make an emergency landing. A Russian passenger Airbus A320 flying from the Black Sea resort of Sochi to the Siberian city of Omsk with 167 people on board made an emergency landing in a Siberian field on Tuesday, officials said. Russia's aviation has been hard hit by Western sanctions over Moscow's Ukraine offensive. Authorities released footage of the Ural Airlines plane in a field next to a forest in the Novosibirsk region, saying there were no casualties. The plane had its slides out and people stood in the field outside it. "At 05.44 Moscow time (0244GMT) an unscheduled landing of a Ural Airlines A320 plane flying along the Sochi-Omsk route, was successfully carried out," Moscow's aviation agency Rosaviatsia said in a statement. It said the landing took place "on a site selected from the air" near the village of Kamenka, in Siberia's Novosibirsk region. "According to the crew, there are 159 passengers and six crew members onboard," it said. "All passengers are housed in the nearest village," the agency said, adding that none of them sought medical help. Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the violation of air traffic safety rules. It said the aircraft made the emergency landing "for a technical reason." Russia's aviation industry has been struggling to get new parts to repair planes due to Western sanctions. Ural Airlines is a domestic Russian airline based in the city of Yekaterinburg. https://www.euronews.com/2023/09/12/ural-airlines-airbus-with-159-passengers-onboard-lands-in-a-field-in-siberia Thanks to staffing troubles at the FAA, an aviation catastrophe is just waiting to happen Aviation regulation is dangerously understaffed, a problem dating back to Reagan with no solution in sight Here's how it's probably going to happen. Millions of American phones will buzz with push notifications, and millions of thumbs will swipe-open a breaking news article. There they'll read gruesome details about a fatal, yet wholly preventable, commercial aircraft collision like those warned of in recent New York Times reporting about the 300-plus near-crashes that happened this year. While it could occur at LaGuardia or LAX, it'll likely be at a smaller, regional airport — one that's been barely holding its World War II-era bricks together with breadcrumb capital funds and a skeleton crew of air traffic controllers working six-day burn-out shifts for minimal pay. As tragedies tend to go in the US, the story will dominate headlines for a week or so. Feature profiles will include haunting family photos and somberly spoken descriptions of young lives cut short, or grandparents killed. Investigative news coverage will prowl through Federal Aviation Administration records, highlighting a trail of terrifying data and repeated pleas from the unions. Capitol Hill reporting will relay the most colorful quotes from the two parties — one screaming for privatization, the other for air safety funding. When (God forbid) it happens, pundits will nervously recall the Biden administration backstabbing rail union workers. Those pundits will ask: Remember when Ronald Reagan fired 11,345 air traffic controllers (mostly military veterans) in the '80s because they went on strike, and how he doomed the FAA to a recurring 25-year staffing crisis, based on retirement age. And, finally, you and I will feel a terrible truth creeping up on us: By the time the Congressional dust settles and all the lobbying checks are cashed, public aviation regulation is probably going to look a lot like the rest of public transportation in this country. Or like public education, public health, public nutrition, public housing... In other words, it's going to be intentionally starved to death so profiteers can justify its increasingly rapid privatization. Maybe all this seems rather out of the blue to you, and you think I'm overreacting. If so, fair enough. After all, as the Times notes, major airlines in the US haven't seen a fatal crash in 14 years — the longest safety streak in the country's history. By my lights, though, that's exactly why it's going to be so abrupt and horrific if something catastrophic happens. But let's do some math here, and you can tell me how far I'm blowing the risk out of proportion. In a single month, there were 46 close calls — that's when two or more commercial passenger aircraft get within seconds of fatal cataclysmic destruction. Close calls have dramatically increased in the past decade per FAA inspector general reports, and are now happening multiple times a week — with 300 close calls in a single 12-month period. Mind you, those are only the close calls that appeared in a single, NASA-maintained database accessed by the Times. There is a labyrinth of reporting systems where further documentation could be dug-up. "It is only a matter of time before something catastrophic happens." The Times found that 99% of US air traffic control facilities (that's 310 out of 313) do not have enough certified controllers for basic safety standards. We're now more than halfway through 2023, and some controllers already have racked up more than 400 hours of overtime. And in the past decade, the number of fully trained controllers fell 10% while airport traffic has increased 5%. That traffic has increased on more than 450 runways which have no surface-detection imminent-collision warning systems — despite the National Transportation Safety Board calling for the FAA to install them in 2017. (Sorry, Safety Board. No funding, no systems.) There are about 10,700 certified air traffic controllers currently — with 13,300 controllers overall, trainees accounting for 26% — which is consistent with 2021 levels and a couple hundred more than last year. Meanwhile, however, US aviation overall is short about 32,000 air traffic controllers, pilots and mechanics. After you get hired, it can take years — years! — of training to become a certified air traffic controller, a profoundly high-skill job that has consistently ranked for years among the most stressful in nearly every poll across US professions. The FAA's most recent budget request sought $117 million to hire and train 1,800 new controllers in 2024, but they already expect to lose at least 1,400 controllers next year. In 2023, the FAA is already boasting of hiring 1,500 controllers — which is barely treading water, considering how long it will take these trainees to be ready. https://www.salon.com/2023/09/12/thanks-to-staffing-troubles-at-the-faa-an-aviation-catatrosphe-is-just-waiting-to-happen/ NTSB: Plane that came to rest on 1 engine suffered a broken pin inside landing gear A broken pin might have caused a landing gear failure that left an Alaska Airlines jet resting on one of its engines last month WASHINGTON -- Investigators say a pin broke inside the left landing gear of an Alaska Airlines jet that came to rest on one of the engines after landing in California last month. The two pilots discussed the need for a “firm” landing during Tropical Storm Hilary, and the captain felt a “firm jolt feeling” when the plane touched the runway at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California. Data from the plane indicated, however, that the touchdown force was within the airline’s limits, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report Monday. The pilots told investigators that cockpit indicators showed both main landing gear and the nose gear were in the down and locked position. After the plane landed, the captain told the co-pilot that it felt like the plane had a flat tire on the left side, and the crew noticed the plane listing to the left. When the captain stopped the plane on a taxiway, he opened a window and saw the plane resting on the housing surrounding the left engine. The pilots shut down both engines, and passengers exited on the taxiway. No injuries were reported among the 106 passengers and six crew members on the Aug. 20 flight, the NTSB said. The NTSB said its examination found that a trunnion pin in the left landing gear had broken, and the gear assembly punched through the top of the left wing. The board said it will continue to investigate the incident. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/ntsb-plane-rest-engine-suffered-broken-pin-inside-103097144 Replacement plane sent to India to pick up PM, delegation after maintenance issue Preflight check on 36-year-old plane revealed part that needed to be replaced Airplane problem strands Canadian G20 delegation in India Canada's G20 delegation, including the prime minister, is still stuck in New Delhi due to a problem with the aging government Airbus that was supposed to bring them home. A replacement aircraft and parts have been dispatched to bring them back to Canada. The Royal Canadian Air Force sent a CC-150 Polaris to India from CFB Trenton Sunday night to pick up Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian delegation after the plane that took him there suffered a maintenance problem. According to a statement from National Defence, the issue involves a part that must be replaced. "The safety of all passengers is critical to the RCAF and pre-flight safety checks are a regular part of all of our flight protocols," said the statement. "The discovery of this issue is evidence that these protocols are effective." The replacement plane, which initially was routing through Rome on its way to India, has since been diverted to London, England. According to the PMO, the earliest the plane will leave the U.K. is early Tuesday morning London time. New jets for official travel won't have a private cabin for the PM — for now A government source speaking on background told CBC News that a technician from Canada with the part needed to fix the plane is now flying commercial to India. The source said the part is not fundamental to flying the plane but is required to meet regulations. If the first plane can be fixed before the replacement plane arrives, it will bring Trudeau and the delegation home. A Challenger jet now in London could be sent to collect the prime minister if neither plane is able to make the journey. The issue with the 36-year-old CC-150 Polaris was discovered during the preflight check process. This is not the first time the aging Polaris fleet has caused issues for Trudeau during his time in office. A problem in October 2016 required the aircraft to return to Ottawa 30 minutes after taking off with Trudeau, who was en route to Belgium to sign the Canada-Europe free trade deal. In October 2019, the VIP plane rolled into a wall while being towed into a hangar at 8 Wing Trenton, sustaining "significant structural damage to the nose and right engine cowling," according to the air force. The plane was out of service for 16 months that year. A backup aircraft was used to take Trudeau to the NATO summit in December 2019, but it was grounded in London when the air force discovered a problem with one of the engines. The federal government has purchased nine planes, some new and some used, to replace its existing fleet. The first of those planes arrived in Ottawa on Aug. 31. But two of the used Airbus A-330s from Kuwait Airways purchased by the RCAF will not include the prime minister's traditional VIP quarters until a retrofit that may not come for two years or more. New fleet of planes coming The widebody jets will replace RCAF's 1980s-era Airbus A-310s, also known as the Airbus CC-150 Polaris, the aging aircraft used for the prime minister's trips abroad and for transporting military personnel. Canadian crews have been training to fly the new aircraft in the United Kingdom since January. On average, it takes about three months of training for a Polaris pilot to be ready to fly the new Airbus, according to National Defence officials. War in Ukraine expected to block consensus at G20 as Trudeau visits Asia Trudeau says he wants to raise the issue of foreign interference with India's PM Modi The replacement planes are expected to go into service sometime this fall. They will also provide personal transport for the Governor General. The PMO said Trudeau continues to work from his hotel in New Delhi. It's not clear what this delay means for the prime minister's attendance at the Liberal caucus retreat this week. This plane debacle caps off a tense G20 summit where Western nations failed to get a strong statement on Russia's invasion of Ukraine or to get countries to agree to concrete targets for aggressively tackling climate change. The plane breakdown also comes on the heels of terse and awkward interactions between Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two governments' summaries of their sit-down meeting were very different. Canada's failed to mention India's concerns about the Sikh separatist movement in Canada, while India's summary of the meeting focused on that issue. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/replacement-plane-polaris-india-1.6962591 Petition Asks FAA to Credit MQ-9 Pilot Hours Towards Certifications A petition filed with the FAA last month is requesting rulemaking to credit military MQ-9 Reaper pilot hours towards FAA Commercial and Restricted Airline Transport Pilot certificates. Supporters also want other Group 5 UAVs included. One of the only differences between a UAV and crewed aircraft is that the UAV pilot’s life is not in danger, nor are they flying people. Pilots still conduct systems checks, fuel planning, airspace planning, weather planning, communication and most other tasks typically associated with professional flight though. They adhere to all FAA and ICAO flight rules and communicate with the appropriate ATC agencies in the airspace where they fly. The aircraft they pilot is also much more complex than a traditional drone or small UAV. So the question is, why is all that experience considered invalid for professional licenses? Jackson notes that MQ-9 pilots execute the same duties as their crewed aircraft counterparts. They operate and control the Reaper with traditional aircraft controls, and have all the equipment available and displayed to them for day/night VFR and IFR. They perform, supervise, or direct navigation, surveillance, reconnaissance, and weapons employment operations and have mastered all aspects of advanced aviation. The USAF would not give them Reapers to fly otherwise. He also notes that MQ-9 pilots have the same responsibilities as their crewed military counterparts. They are graded against many of the same general evaluation criteria, and undergo evaluation on an annual basis in the instrument, qualification, mission, and emergency procedure areas for their aircraft while being held to the same rigorous evaluation criteria. You can read more about that in the petition hyperlinked above. Reaper pilots are well versed in theory of flight, air navigation, meteorology, flying directives, aircraft operating procedures, and mission tactics. MQ-9 pilots would help with the pilot shortage “The exorbitant cost of obtaining flight certificates, whether at the Commercial or ATP levels persists, creating obstacles for potential manned pilot vacancies,” says Jackson in the petition. He adds, “Due to the unconventional nature of flying remotely piloted group 5 aircraft and heavy reliance on simulator-based training during undergraduate flight training for MQ-9 pilots, crediting MQ-9 flying hours towards FAA flight certificates may allow for greater flexibility and experimentation in the aviation industry.” According to a 2014 Government Accountability Office report, the cost to train a crewed aircraft pilot costs over 8.5 times more than a UAV pilot. There is no lack of interest to pursue aviation careers, but the costs are the major roadblock for many who would otherwise pursue. Jackson believes the proposed action could encourage adoption of alternative training methodologies, technologies, and approaches to civilian pilot education. Doing so could lower the costs for aspiring pilots by making training and education more affordable. Time will tell if the FAA wants to play ball and entertain this petition.. “The talent pool from the MQ-9 community is vast and could help pilots combine their full breadth of diverse experience and technologically advanced training to be great applicants for future FAA pilot shortages-especially when these applicants may only need 1/3 of their MQ-9 hours to fill the gap in hours to qualify for their restricted ATP,” says a former USAF pilot on the petition. “It has been a shame for many years to not allow these qualified candidates to have any credit for their diversity of well-rounded experience.” https://avgeekery.com/petition-asks-faa-to-credit-mq-9-pilot-hours-towards-certifications/ Hundreds of Airmen Stuck Waiting To Start Pilot Training As Shortage Persists While some future Air Force pilots wait for cockpits to open up so they can start training, they’re doing everything from public affairs to marshaling aircraft on the flight line, the head of the 19th Air Force said recently—highlighting the persistent problems the service faces in trying to reduce its pilot shortage. As of Aug. 25, more than 900 Airmen are waiting to enter the pilot training pipeline, according to 19th Air Force data. Roughly a quarter have been waiting less than three months, but most are between three and nine months. Another quarter—around 220 people—have been stuck even longer. “Wings will have these lieutenants that are waiting pilot training work in their PA shop,” Maj. Gen. Clark Quinn said during a briefing with reporters. “They will have them work in their command post, doing reporting. They will actually take some of them and teach them how to not necessarily do aircraft maintenance, but put them out on the flight line and marshal aircraft in and park, and get them connected to the mission. So they are kept gainfully employed unless they choose to take some leave and obviously take some time off.” A spokesperson later added that future pilots also knock out their survival training while they wait. Some are assigned to earn postgraduate degrees. The total number of those waiting is down slightly from a peak of more than 1,000, Quinn said. The Air Force is limited in part by the availability of its training aircraft, all of which entered service at least two decades ago. The T-38 Talon, in particular, used to train future fighter and bomber pilots, is “frankly, struggling,” Quinn said. Production of the T-38 ended in 1972. “The mission capable rates of the T-38 are not good,” Quinn added, noting that engine problems have forced the 19th Air Force to limit flying hours—and, in turn, prevented it from reaching its goal of producing 1,500 pilots per year. The T-38 is not alone in experiencing issues, however. A batch of T-6 Texan IIs were damaged in a recent storm at Vance Air Force Base, Okla., Quinn said. And the service is in the process of retiring the T-1 Jayhawk, with aircraft already heading to the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Long term, the Air Force plans to replace the T-38 with the T-7 Red Hawk, an advanced new trainer currently undergoing flight testing. However, the Red Hawk has been delayed several times through development and is now not expected to reach initial operational capability until 2027. There’s nothing Quinn can do to speed up the T-7’s schedule, but he said gaining it in the fleet will not only increase availability but also improve the overall training pipeline. “[The T-38] a 60-plus-year old design that was designed for a type of aircraft that we haven’t flown in 30 years, and we spend a lot of time in training teaching young aviators how to do things that they don’t need in their next aircraft,” Quinn said. In fiscal 2022, the Air Force produced 1,276 pilots. In 2023, that number increased slightly to around 1,350, but still short of the goal of 1,470. With demand from commercial airlines strong, the need for new pilots to replace those leaving the service is persistent. The 19th Air Force’s goal will be 1,500 new pilots in fiscal 2024, a spokesperson said. Quinn said the overall pilot shortage remains at around 2,000, roughly the number it has been for the last several years. Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin previously told Congress that the Air Force has taken steps to ensure the shortfall doesn’t mean aircraft aren’t flying. “In order to have a healthy pilot professional force, you need first and foremost the combat cockpits filled,” Allvin said in April. “Then you need the trainer cockpits filled. Then you need the test cockpits filled. And after you fill out the cockpits, then our next priority is the leadership—you want the leadership positions filled. And then after you have all those filled, then you go to the staff positions. That is where we are currently absorbing our shortage: in the staffs.” Echoing Allvin, Quinn said that not filling staff positions has a long-term effect by stunting the “mentoring and growth of the officers that we expect to be able to lead our Air Force in the future.” Pilots aren’t the only staffing shortfall—even the civilian flight instructors who teach future pilots on simulators are undermanned, Quinn said. “We have openings at all of our locations. In some cases manning is down at the 60 to 70 percent level,” Quinn said. “What we ended up having to do is take military instructors to fill those civilian gaps and teach them and when you’re teaching the sims, you’re not teaching the flights.” To address that problem, the 19th Air Force is trying to hire remote simulator instructors to entice civilians who don’t live near Air Force training centers. At the moment, though, Quinn’s team is working on a latency issue affecting that effort. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/airmen-waiting-pilot-training-shortage/ Air Force to fall nearly 150 pilots short of annual training goal The Air Force will fall short of its fiscal 2023 pilot training goal by about 120 airmen, missing its annual target of around 1,500 new aviators for the eighth consecutive year, the service confirmed Sept. 8. A slew of maintenance woes, staffing issues and other unexpected setbacks led the Air Force to pin wings on around 1,350 airmen rather than its aspirational goal of 1,470. The shortfall makes it more difficult for the service to fill a pilot shortage of around 2,000 people that has persisted for years. “We’re going to try to make sure we are still flying because that’s what we do as an Air Force,” Maj. Gen. Clark Quinn, the two-star general in charge of pilot training told reporters on a recent conference call. The Air Force set a new target of around 1,500 new aviators a year in fiscal 2020 but has so far failed to meet its own bar. It will aim for that same goal in fiscal 2024, Air Force spokesperson Benjamin Faske said. About half of unfilled pilot billets belong to the active duty Air Force, and most fall within the fighter community. To avoid shortchanging the operational squadrons that fly missions around the world each day, the Air Force instead leaves staff jobs empty that pilots would typically fill. “It sounds like it’s not as big of a deal to short the staff,” Quinn said. “That actually does affect long-term mentoring and growth of the officers that we expect to be able to lead our Air Force in the future.” It also puts more pressure on the service to retain experienced pilots. More than 650 airmen, or 67% of eligible people, have accepted bonus pay under a legacy program aimed at keeping aviators in uniform, the Air Force said Aug. 30. At least 210 more airmen have signed contracts worth up to $50,000 a year as part of a new, congressionally mandated pilot retention program that opened this summer. Slower-than-expected repairs to the engines used on the T-38 Talon jets have limited the number of aircraft that can be used for daily training missions for more than a year. T-38s are the Air Force’s sole intermediate platform for teaching airmen to fly fighter and bomber aircraft. “It has not gotten worse, but it has also not gotten better,” Quinn said. “The government is looking at perhaps doing some in-house … parts production to try and help facilitate getting them back healthy.” In July, a thunderstorm further set back undergraduate pilot training when it damaged nearly 20 T-6 Texan II turboprop aircraft at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. “Those spare parts are not sitting on a shelf where you can pull them out and fix it the next day,” Quinn said. The service is also still struggling to fill its civilian instructor jobs, 30-40% of which sit open. Quinn said the Air Force is testing the possibility of hiring remote teachers to control a simulator or run a class from afar. Slow internet connections could limit how widely that option may be used, he added. Those problems have made it difficult for the Air Force to fully reap the benefits of years of changes to its undergraduate pilot training, shrinking it to a seven-month process that allows airmen to move at their own pace using virtual reality and other educational technology. The service had hoped the overhaul would eventually allow it to graduate more pilots who are better equipped to juggle the conflicting demands of modern combat. As years of UPT refinements come to a close, other updates are still getting off the ground. A streamlined version of fighter pilot training, which combines introductory and graduate-level practice in the T-38 Talon jet, is underway at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, Quinn said. “They’re executing that right now,” Quinn said. “It is ... maybe 15% to 20% of the way through the syllabus, so far too early to take any grand conclusions from it. But having notionally talked to some of the pilots, they’re already seeing where there’s going to be opportunities to make the entire pipeline more efficient.” The Air Force is leaning into its plan to train new mobility pilots using simulators instead of the T-1 Jayhawk jet, which will gradually retire through fiscal 2026. “Again, it’s a little bit too soon to make grand assessments, but at this point, the folks that have graduated from that … program are doing just fine at the formal training units,” Quinn said. “We’ve noticed no significant trends or dropoff in their performance.” Lawmakers have requested more insight into that process as part of the fiscal 2024 defense policy bill, and proposed to block the service from retiring any T-1s until more questions on the plan’s impact on pilot production are answered. A revamped version of helicopter training has ended the practive of first teaching airmen to fly the T-6 Texan II turboprop plane, and instead begins with rotary-wing training from the outset. After an introductory course, airmen head to undergraduate helicopter training at the Army’s Fort Novosel. Defense company CAE announced in June it would run the Introductory Flight Training-Rotary course over the next 10 years under a contract worth up to $111 million. The class will move to the company’s facility near Fort Novosel in Dothan, Alabama. Quinn indicated that transition will be complete in the fall. Airmen assigned to the 23rd Flying Training Squadron at Fort Rucker, Ala., now known as Fort Novosel, prepare to land their a UH-1N Huey at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., in August 2020. (Airman 1st Class Davis Donaldson/Air Force) The various slowdowns have also created a bottleneck in the training pipeline itself, as hundreds of airmen wait for spots at those flight schools to open up. More than 900 people were waiting to begin pilot training at the end of August, Faske said. The pool of pilot hopefuls typically spikes in the late spring and early summer as candidates graduate from college, then wanes as they enter the schoolhouses throughout the year. But the downturn in aircraft availability means those students filter through the system more slowly, keeping them out of the cockpit for months. Half of that pool must wait three to nine months to begin undergraduate pilot training, Faske said. Another quarter waits for less than three months, and the remaining quarter is in limbo for more than nine months. In the meantime, airmen get their initial flight training classes and survival courses out of the way, start postdoctoral studies, or are slotted into office jobs where they can use their college degrees. “You’ve completed your training. We had a commitment to you, we’re going to make you a lieutenant, and we will put you to work,” Quinn said. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2023/09/11/air-force-to-fall-nearly-150-pilots-short-of-annual-training-goal/ GRADUATE RESEARCH REQUEST I started my academic career with a BSc. in Aviation Management at Florida Institute of Technology and graduated in 2005. After relocating to Europe and completing the ATPL training, I started flying the B737NG for a scheduled low-cost carrier for four years. Afterwards, relocating to Dubai to fly for a major long-haul airline on the B777 for 8.5 years. In 2020 relocated to the UK to fly for a British long-haul airline. During Covid while there wasn't any flying, I started the MSc. in Aviation Safety, Risk Management and Regulation studies with Cranfield University and I am currently working on my thesis to complete the master's program. My thesis looks at Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) and the overall effectiveness that FRMS has achieved so far. It intends to focus on organisational factors within the operators and regulators to identify those factors that contribute to implementing an effective FRMS. The survey is targeted for pilots that are actively flying (either long or short-haul) and would like to share their experiences with the FRMS within their organisation. It is a short survey and should take no longer than two to three minutes of your time. I will hugely appreciate everyone's feedback. Survey Link: https://cranfielduniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4UdHcIxHD4Wweb4 Kind regards, Erdem Serifoglu Curt Lewis