Flight Safety Information - October 4, 2023 No. 192 In This Issue : Incident: Hawaiian A332 at Las Vegas on Oct 1st 2023, lightning strike : Incident: Lufthansa A319 near Munich on Oct 1st 2023, brake accumulator failure : United Airlines plane blows tire during landing at Sea-Tac airport : TSA officers detect record number of firearms at John Glenn Columbus International Airport : Ural Airlines Is Preparing To Fly An Airbus A320 Out Of A Field : Boeing Hopes To Reach Record Month Production Of 737 MAX Aircraft : Aeroflot acquires 17 aircraft stranded in Russia through insurance settlement : 737 Max simulator being used in western Washington to get pilots certified more efficiently : NASA Studies Human Pilots to Advance Autonomous Air Taxis Incident: Hawaiian A332 at Las Vegas on Oct 1st 2023, lightning strike A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200, registration N393HA performing flight HA-5 from Las Vegas,NV to Honolulu,HI (USA) with 278 passengers and 11 crew, was climbing out of Las Vegas' runway 26R when the crew stopped the climb at about 15500 feet following a lightning strike and decided to return to Las Vegas. The aircraft landed safely on runway 26L about 20 minutes after departure. The flight was cancelled. The airline reported the aircraft sustained a lightning strike. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Las Vegas about 38 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=50f2d11d&opt=0 Incident: Lufthansa A319 near Munich on Oct 1st 2023, brake accumulator failure A Lufthansa Airbus A319-100, registration D-AILY performing flight LH-1704 from Munich (Germany) to Sofia (Bulgaria), was climbing out of Munich when the crew stopped the climb at FL270 after receiving indication that the brake accumulators had low pressure. The aircraft returned to Munich for a safe landing on runway 26L about 40 minutes after departure. The rotation was cancelled. The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 38 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=50f2cee1&opt=0 United Airlines plane blows tire during landing at Sea-Tac airport SEATAC, Wash. — A United Airlines flight had a bit of a bumpy landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Tuesday afternoon. The airplane inbound from Chicago had a single tire blow during the landing process, according to a United Airlines spokesperson, clarifying previous information from Port of Seattle that suggested two tires had been damaged. The airport arranged for buses to come and take the passengers from the taxiway to the terminal. There were no reports of any injuries. However, people reached out to KOMO News expressing frustration with the time it took for buses to arrive, saying they were on the tarmac for over two hours. United Airlines did not comment on any delays. The spokesperson said there were 176 passengers on board plus six crew members. All got off the aircraft safely. Port of Seattle officials said United Airlines towed the aircraft away for repairs. There was no impact to airport operations during the incident. https://komonews.com/news/local/united-airlines-plane-blows-tires-during-landing-at-sea-tac-airport-aviation-flight-air-travel-hard-landing-runaway-tarmac-wait-times-passengers-frustrations TSA officers detect record number of firearms at John Glenn Columbus International Airport • TSA said so far this year, 41 firearms have been detected at the Columbus airport — which surpasses the previous record of 40 firearms being detected. COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Transportation Safety Administration said officers have detected a record number of firearms at checkpoints at John Glenn Columbus International Airport. TSA said so far this year, 41 firearms have been detected at the Columbus airport — which surpasses the previous record of 40 firearms being detected. The latest firearm that was confiscated at the airport was on Tuesday around 8:30 a.m. TSA said the loaded weapon was discovered in a passenger’s carry-on bag. Officers have also detected loaded firearms in other incidents on Sept. 25, Sept. 28 and Sept. 29. The Columbus Regional Airport Authority police were alerted and confiscated the weapons. TSA announced that during the first three quarters of 2023, officers intercepted 5,072 firearms at airport security checkpoints. At the current rate, the agency said it will surpass last year’s record 6,542 firearms prevented from getting onboard aircraft. “It’s troubling that we’ve set an all-time record for firearms stopped at the checkpoint with three months still left in the year,” Ohio TSA Federal Security Director Don Barker said. “In addition to the serious safety risk these incidents pose, they also slow down the screening process for all passengers when we’re forced to temporarily close down a lane. I urge passengers to think twice before they leave the house about what they’re bringing in their carry-on bags.” The penalty for a firearm violation can be as high as $14,950, but TSA said it determines the penalties based on the circumstances in each case. Passengers will be revoked of TSA PreCheck eligibility for at least five years if they’re caught with a firearm in their possession. Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they’re unloaded, packed separately from ammunition in a locked hardback case and declared at the airline check-in counter. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm on its website. Firearm possession laws vary by state and municipality. Travelers are encouraged to check for firearm laws in the jurisdiction they are flying to and from. https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/john-glenn-columbus-international-airport-firearms-detected/530-73df28d5-450e-4bb1-813e-644e0548a136 Ural Airlines Is Preparing To Fly An Airbus A320 Out Of A Field • The airline is proposing to use an untried and untested method to recover the plane SUMMARY • Ural Airlines plans to fly a stranded Airbus A320 out of a field where it made an emergency landing. • The airline has conducted tests on the aircraft's engines, confirming that they don't require maintenance or refurbishment, although further tests and inspections are planned. • The recovery process involves examining the aircraft structure, preparing it for temporary storage, and removing the seats to reduce weight. The airline advises that it may take several months to remove the aircraft from the field. Ural Airlines is preparing to fly an Airbus A320 out of the field in which it made an emergency landing last month. It will be the first time that any such recovery has been tried, yet many questions remain about how it ended up in the field to start with and whether the recovery operation can be successful. An unconventional departure Russian carrier Ural Airlines has confirmed its plans to attempt to fly a stranded Airbus A320 from the field in which it performed an emergency landing on September 12, 2023. The airline has taken to its Telegram channel this week to post various photos of preparatory work taking place on the plane, along with a comment that various options are available. Ural Airlines has confirmed that tests carried out on the aircraft's two CFM International CFM56 engines had shown that they "will not require refurbishment." The carrier also stated that following its unconventional landing location, the engine flow section has been "cleared of soil and straw, which was confirmed by repeated inspection." The airline also revealed that it is currently awaiting the arrival of lifting gear so that the aircraft can be raised to "carry out landing gear testing, testing of components and additional studies of the aircraft design." The statement ends by confirming that "an in-depth examination of the aircraft structure and preparation for storage is being carried out. The plan also includes dismantling the seats to make the aircraft lighter," it adds. Ural Airlines has previously indicated that removal/recovery of the aircraft from the field could take several months (possibly until the ground freezes during the coming winter months). That work is already underway to temporarily store the narrowbody twinjet in its current location. Why is there an A320 in a field? The 17-year-old Ural Airlines A320 with registration RA-73805 was operating flight U6 1383, a domestic flight from Sochi (AER) to Omsk (OMS), Russia, when it suffered a reported hydraulic failure on the approach to its final destination. The flight had 165 passengers and crew onboard. Following the execution of a missed approach, or 'go around,' the crew climbed the aircraft back up to 18,000ft and subsequently elected to divert to Novosibirsk Airport (OVB), which has a longer runway that would facilitate a landing possibly without the use of brakes and spoilers, among other systems. The crew's initial calculations indicated that the aircraft would have had enough fuel to reach the alternative airport. However, with the crew being unable to retract the main landing gear doors due to the hydraulic failure this increased the fuel consumption during the diversion, an issue exacerbated by stronger-than-predicted headwinds during the flight. After realizing they could not make it to Novosibirsk, the crew landed in the wheat field with the landing gear extended. The location is reportedly on the outskirts of Kamenka, a rural village about 180 km (110 mi) from Novosibirsk. Possibly wider issues involved It has been widely speculated that the incident occurred due to Russian airlines having difficulty sourcing spares for their civil aircraft due to Western sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, Ural Airlines has denied facing such an issue or using any non-certified spare parts to keep its fleet in the air. However, this incident is not the first of its type to befall Ural Airlines. A similar incident occurred in August 2019 when another Ural Airlines-operated aircraft landed in a cornfield near Moscow. The Airbus A321 involved in that incident suffered a dual-engine failure following a bird strike. In that case, the aircraft sustained substantial damage and was eventually disassembled in the field where it landed. Thankfully, all passengers and crew survived, and the captain was considered a hero. However, like the more recent incident, experts suggested that the pilots could have handled the situation differently and that, in both cases, better decision-making at crucial points in both flights could have avoided the off-airport landings. What are the chances? An attempt to fly a large passenger plane out of a wheat field has never been attempted. Given this to be the case, the aviation world is watching keenly to see how the recovery operation progresses. Any attempt at a take-off would be fraught with difficulties and dangers, even with minimal fuel and with the seats (and possibly other parts of the interior) removed. Firstly, the engines could ingest foreign objects, potentially causing damage and a possible loss of power. Secondly, additional friction from the unpaved surface could drastically increase the take-off distance required as the aircraft struggles to gain speed to become airborne. Lastly, the rough ground could cause the gear to collapse, which would undoubtedly end the recovery attempt and possibly the life of the aircraft if any damage sustained proves too costly to repair. https://simpleflying.com/ural-airlines-prepares-fly-airbus-a320-from-field/ Boeing Hopes To Reach Record Month Production Of 737 MAX Aircraft • The planemaker hopes to have the jet rolling off of the assembly line faster than ever before. SUMMARY • Boeing plans to achieve record production of its 737 MAX jets, targeting a rate of 57 units per month by July 2025. • Despite no official announcement from Boeing, anonymous sources reported the increased production goal, showing a growing demand for the narrowbody jet. • The manufacturer aims to regain market share and compete with rival Airbus, which plans to achieve a delivery rate of 75 per month for its A320 family by 2026. In 2019, when the fate of the 737 MAX program was uncertain following two fatal crashes in which 346 people lost their lives, many would never have expected what was reported today. According to news outlet Reuters, Boeing has targeted record production of the once seemingly doomed narrowbody. Get the latest aviation news straight to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletters today. The latest version of Boeing's best-selling twinjet, of which over 1300 have been built as of September 2023, will see record production, according to new insider details. Reportedly, the manufacturer has targeted a production rate of 57 units per month by July 2025, demonstrating a level of increased demand for the jet. Notably, the sources cited by Reuters are fully anonymous, and no official announcement by Boeing has been made on the matter. The Seattle-based manufacturer still lists 50 units per month as its official July 2025 production rate. A natural response Across the pond in Toulouse, Boeing's primary rival, Airbus, has rapidly ramped up production of its narrowbody families, including the Airbus A220 and A320. With the 737 MAX's woes seemingly in the past, the carrier is naturally going to ramp up production to improve delivery timelines and hopefully secure more orders. Currently, the European manufacturer remains on target to achieve a delivery rate of 75 per month by 2026 for its popular A320 family. Boeing's official plan, as indicated by company leadership to Bloomberg TV last year, sets 42 737 MAXs per month as a production target for December 2023. According to the anonymous reporting, that number is set to grow to 47 jets by June 2024, and then by December 2024 is set to reach 52 aircraft. Ultimately, Boeing will hope to reach its target of 57 by July 2025. A strong recovery In 2019, before the 737 MAX groundings, the manufacturer had the jet rolling off of its assembly lines at a rate of 52 jets per month, swiftly moving towards a target of 57. However, production slowed amid the jets' removal from service and the company's order book didn't grow significantly. However, amid rapidly expanding demand for the aircraft, producing more and more jets has become Boeing's primary goal. As the company's leadership shared amid a landmark order for nearly 200 MAXs from Air India, the firm has yet to eliminate a delivery rate of 60 a month by 2026 from consideration. https://simpleflying.com/boeing-plans-reach-record-production-737-max-aircraft/ Aeroflot acquires 17 aircraft stranded in Russia through insurance settlement Aircraft lessor SMBC Aviation Capital and Russian airline Aeroflot have reached an agreement over planes leased to the carrier. According to a statement by SMBC Aviation Capital on October 2, 2023, the Ireland-based firm “received cash insurance settlement proceeds totaling approximately $710 million in respect of its aircraft previously leased to Aeroflot”. SMBC Aviation Capital made the claims against Aeroflot’s insurance and reinsurance policies in relation to 16 aircraft and their associated engines, plus an additional insurance settlement for one aircraft and its associated engines managed by the lessor. ASG In Article Banner October 2023 The statement by SMBC Aviation Capital confirmed that the settlement with NSK, a Russian insurance company, were carried out in full compliance with all “applicable laws, sanctions and regulations and have been approved by the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of the Treasury”. SMBC Aviation Capital has declared that it will continue to actively pursue its litigation in the Irish courts under its own insurance policies, continuing its efforts to seek to mitigate its losses in respect of its aircraft that were previously leased to other Russian airlines. On October 3, 2023, Aeroflot published its own statement in response to the development. Aerviva In Article Banner October 2023 “In accordance with the agreements reached, the lessors terminated their claims to the Russian parties both under insurance policies issued by Russian insurance companies and under leasing agreements with PJSC Aeroflot,” the Russian airline said in a statement. Aeroflot added: “The ownership of the aircraft was transferred to the LLC insurance company NSK, which paid the settlement amount. Aeroflot Group continues negotiations on the settlement of existing claims with other lessors of foreign-made aircraft.” In September 2023, lessor AerCap announced it had received a cash settlement of $645 million for 17 aircraft and five engines leased to Aeroflot, including its subsidiary Rossiya Airlines. Aircraft leased to Russian airlines became stranded in the country after Moscow refused to release them in the wake of Western sanctions. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/aeroflot-lessor-smbc-aircraft-russia 737 Max simulator being used in western Washington to get pilots certified more efficiently • As airlines try to find creative ways to adjust to the pilot shortage, a local business in western Washington is using a new tool to close that gap. MUKILTEO, Wash. — Simulation Flight in Mukilteo now has a unique piece of machinery available to pilots. “The nice thing about a simulator in deference to a real plane is number one you’re not going to fly a jet like this to train and learn,” said Michael Haynes who is the chief instructor at Simulation Flight, he is also a retired FAA regulator and airline pilot. The 737 Max simulator took two years to get FAA-certified and is the only one of its kind owned by a private business. A feat largely spearheaded by Haynes, “I know a 737 very, very well.” Projections from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics show there will be 16,800 openings for commercial and airline pilots each year for over a decade. While the FAA said airline pilots are increasing year over year, it’s still not enough to cover those projections. “We thought we could help bridge the gap between commercial pilots, flight instructors or charter pilots and help them make the jump to ATP which is Airline Transport Pilot,” said Peter Hickey, who owns Simulation Flight. A private pilot can get their license in 40 hours, but to fly for an airline, a pilot needs 1,500 hours. “As a former regulator, when I look at someone with 500 hours, it’s not anything near the performance level I’d see at 1,500,” said Haynes. Paying to fly those hours is costly. "I shudder to think what it costs to take a 737 up and around the patch. You’re in the thousands of dollars and that just doesn’t happen, that’s versus our hundreds of dollars,” said Hickey. The simulations won’t account for all the time you need, but it does count towards some of them. “We hope to increase the number of pilots entering the industry,” said Hickey. There are options for people who aren’t pilots in an entertainment capacity. If you want to be professionally trained on the 737 Max, you have to be a registered pilot. https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/aerospace/local-737-max-simulator-helps-pilot-shortage/281-9250b54f-44a2-432d-9e3c-9be78f33a622 NASA Studies Human Pilots to Advance Autonomous Air Taxis NASA research pilot Scott “Jelly” Howe tested specialized retinal movement tracking glasses at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Bridgeport, Connecticut on June 27, 2023. The glasses will help researchers working to design air taxis understand how a pilot visually experiences the cockpit and interacts with flight navigation tools. Air taxis may become an important part of the U.S. transportation ecosystem, quickly carrying people relatively short distances – and eventually some may fly without a pilot aboard. NASA is helping prepare for that future with research to ensure that fully autonomous flight technology is safe. Currently, a NASA study team is evaluating how autonomous software can work with flight navigation tools. And to get that information, they’re investigating how human pilots interact with the new flight navigation technology. This work, involving the agency’s research pilots, software developers, and flight engineers, is critical for NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility mission, which envisions a future of new air transportation options including air taxis and delivery drones. The research is part of an automation software development collaboration between NASA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky. During an upcoming test, NASA research pilot Scott “Jelly” Howe will wear specially designed glasses that track the movement of his pupils, as well as biometric sensors that measure his body temperature and brain activity during flight. Data gathered will include Howe’s real-time reactions to ground control instructions, aircraft controls, the presence of other aircraft, and weather. The research will also monitor his use of a specially designed tablet into which he will select algorithm suggested flight path options and manually input commands. Biometric indicators such as dilated pupils, increased brain activity, elevated heart rate, respiration, and temperature can reveal when a pilot is experiencing excessive workload or heightened stress levels. The data gathered through this study will provide insight into pilots’ tendencies during flight. NASA researchers will use that data to improve future autonomous systems, so they can respond to hazards like human pilots would, paving the way for air taxi operations in the U.S. airspace “The biometric devices we employ enable us to quantify physiological aspects that are typically subconscious,” said NASA human factors researcher Dr. Tyler Fettrow. “Through these devices, we capture eye tracking data, providing insights into where the pilot’s attention is focused, the duration of their fixations, and changes in pupil dilation.” This type of human-factors research is important because of the unique challenges involved with integrating air taxis in the existing airspace system, where autonomous systems will have to avoid obstacles like other aircraft, buildings, birds, and weather. NASA is looking at the larger blueprint of how these aircraft will be integrated into the national airspace. “Advanced Air Mobility systems typically involve a high degree of automation and interaction between the humans and technology,” Fettrow said. “Designing interfaces that provide clear situational awareness, appropriate alerts and notifications, and effective communication channels is vital for safe operations.” https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/nasa-studies-human-pilots-to-advance-autonomous-air-taxis/ Curt Lewis