Flight Safety Information - November 2, 2023 No. 213 In This Issue : Incident: My Freighter B742 at Shenzhen on Nov 1st 2023, engine failure : Incident: Martin B744 at Amsterdam on Oct 31st 2023, lightning strike causes digital malfunctions : GAO: U.S. Guard Helo Pilots Burdened by Limited Flight Hours : Pilots who safely landed plane after bird strike awarded : Press pool for Biden's Minnesota visit switches aircraft after hearing "bang," seeing "smoke" : FBI: Laser sightings documented near airports on Maui, Kauaʻi : United Airlines flight scrapes tail during takeoff at Boston Logan Airport : KLM cancels dozens of flights at Amsterdam airport due to storm : Southwest Airlines in talks for ‘modest presence' at DFW Airport : Transatlantic airplanes are flying at the ‘speed of sound’ right now. Here’s why : Hawaii-bound United Airlines flight returns to SFO after medical emergency : ICAO audit team to visit Pakistan : Conditions That Cause Autorotation Mishaps : Russian aviation sector faces turbulence as concerns mount over passenger safety : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: My Freighter B742 at Shenzhen on Nov 1st 2023, engine failure A MF My Freighter Boeing 747-200 freighter, registration UK47088 performing flight C6-7472 from Shenzhen (China) to Tashkent (Uzbekistan), was climbing out of Shenzhen's runway 15 when at about 10,000 feet the #2 engine (CF6, inboard left hand) stalled prompting the crew to stop the climb, dump fuel and return to Shenzhen for a safe landing on runway 16 about 55 minutes after departure. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Shenzhen about 16 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=510827b6&opt=0 Incident: Martin B744 at Amsterdam on Oct 31st 2023, lightning strike causes digital malfunctions A Martinair Boeing 747-400 freighter, registration PH-CKB performing flight MP-8321 from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Johannesburg (South Africa), was climbing out of Amsterdam's runway 24 when the aircraft received a lightning strike. The crew initially continued the climb to cruise FL310 but subsequently decided to return to Amsterdam advising they had a number of digital malfunctions requiring checklist work and had observed some electrical odour on board. The aircraft dumped fuel and landed safely on Amsterdam's runway 18R about 2 hours after departure. The aircraft is still on the ground in Amsterdam about 15 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=51082386&opt=0 GAO: U.S. Guard Helo Pilots Burdened by Limited Flight Hours Lack of pilot proficiency factors into Guard helicopter accidents examined by the Government Accountability Office A two-year Government Accountability Office (GAO) performance audit released earlier this year found that helicopter operations at both the Army and Air National Guard suffered from a lack of pilot proficiency and experience due to limited flight hours and simulator time. Contributing factors included a lack of aircraft availability triggered by inadequate maintenance staffing and quality issues with refurbished aircraft, simulator scarcity, and pilots who are overburdened with administrative tasks. “What we looked at, I think, definitely has applicability to the commercial world,” said Cary Russell, GAO director of defense capabilities and management, at a recent webinar hosted by the Helicopter Association International. The GAO investigated causal factors in 298 non-combat helicopter accidents between 2012 and 2021 that killed 28 across aircraft types including the Army Guard’s AH-64 Apache, UH/HH-60 Black Hawk, CH-47 Chinook, UH-72 Lakota, and Air National Guard’s HH-60G Pave Hawk. Of this fleet, the CH-47 had the highest accident rate while the AH-64 had the most fatal accidents. According to the report, “Unit commanders and pilots consistently identified pilot inexperience—such as a lack of proficiency and experience with specific missions—among the factors that contributed to helicopter accidents. For example, one company commander stated that new pilots get almost no experience with multi-ship operations during training events.” “The bottom line is that National Guard pilots are not flying enough to meet their training goals to become proficient pilots in general,” said Randy Neice, GAO senior defense analyst who was on the audit team. “National Guard officials noted that the minimum flying hours per month required for pilots to maintain skills is 6.77 hours. Most of the pilots are not meeting these goals. Ideally, the Army National Guard would like their pilots to exceed nine hours per month, which is the proficiency hour goal. None of the key airframes had pilots averaging over nine hours per month in 2019 and 2020.” Neice said that Army Guard officials indicated that the nine-hour average would not be achieved until at least fiscal 2026. “It’s going to continue to be a problem.” Things are more or less the same at the Air National Guard, where the GAO found that the flying requirements for “basic mission” capability in the Pave Hawks were six hours per month, but that one-third of Air Guard units fell below that level between 2017 and 2021. None of the Air Guard units were meeting the goal of 12.5 pilot flying hours per month deemed required to be “combat ready.” Neice stressed that these numbers were averages and that some units had pilots who flew frequently—as well as those who weren’t getting much flight time at all. The GAO did not compare the accident rate between full-time and part-time Guard pilots. The Army National Guard averages 200,000 flight hours per year across 1,300 aircraft, while the Air National Guard averages 3,500 hours annually across 18 aircraft. Other factors the GAO identified included heavy reliance on part-time pilots; instructor, pilot, and aircrew shortages; and maintenance issues. “There were major maintenance issues and availability challenges at most of the units. In general, [Army] National Guard units have 70 percent of the maintenance personnel they need,” said Neice. Those units had the “additional challenge” of “dealing with refurbished aircraft that were of questionable quality.” Specifically, “Air National Guard officials told us that the helicopters they had required over 3,600 hours of unplanned maintenance” between 2019 and 2021, “resulting in the unit losing over 8,000 hours of aircraft availability” during that time, he said. The GAO also found that, as a whole, part-time pilots had training challenges related to aircraft and simulator availability. “These pilots are taking time off from work or reporting on weekends. If you are a part-time pilot and you’re only able to get there [to the base] once a week or a couple of times a month, and there’s an [aircraft] availability issue that affects what [training] you are trying to do, it really has a major effect on keeping those [flying] skills sharp,” Neice said, adding that access to simulators was also problematic. While pilots who have a simulator on site averaged 32 hours of simulator training per year, Guard pilots who did not have an onsite sim averaged only 12 to 18 hours per year of simulator time. Furthermore, pilots who need to squeeze all their simulator time into a weekend do not have the opportunity to spread that time out throughout the year, he said. While the Guards are taking steps to address this problem, Neice said that the action to date “really hasn’t been comprehensive in nature.” In addition to lack of experience and proficiency, the audit revealed cultural issues that drove accidents. In its report, the GAO found that “Army National Guard safety and aviation operations officials we interviewed told us that accidents are human factor-driven, largely caused by people not being disciplined in application of processes or regulations. Additionally, a unit safety official stated safety processes require enforcement from the unit. However, in analyzing the narratives, we found that ‘indiscipline’ was commonly mentioned when an accident investigation board suspected a culture within a unit existed where a crew regularly operated against regulations without consequences.” The GAO also took issue with the Guard's risk-management practices and recommended that their helicopter units “continuously evaluate and update risk management worksheets and develop comprehensive strategies to address challenges that have hindered National Guard helicopter pilot training.” https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2023-11-01/gao-us-guard-helo-pilots-burdened-limited-flight-hours Pilots who safely landed plane after bird strike awarded The three pilots who successfully landed a commercial passenger airliner after a bird strike to one of its engines during takeoff were awarded for their heroism on Wednesday. Captain Yang Zilong and co-pilots Cao Liang and Huang Weimian from Air Changan showed solid professionalism and strong nerve in successfully handling the incident, the Civil Aviation Administration of China's Northwest Regional Administration said during the award ceremony. The incident occurred on Aug 26 during the takeoff of flight 9H8409, which was carrying 173 passengers and 10 crew from Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, to Sanya, Hainan province. At 10:31 am, as the plane was accelerating and just about to leave the ground, Yang, 34, saw a large bird approaching the runway, and a bang followed. "After just one or two seconds we knew the bird had hit the plane," recounted Yang. "All of a sudden all sorts of monitoring devices, such as for the speed, height and angle of attack, were giving warnings. The left control lever was shaking and the right lever was hardly responsive." It was later discovered that a 1.3-meter black kite, a raptor, had hit the plane's left angle of attack indicator. The indicator broke loose, got sucked into the left engine and damaged it. Due to the damage, the monitors in front of Yang no longer functioned normally, but at that critical juncture, based on the training he received, Yang made the decision to take the plane to a height of 1,500 meters and then try to land. Following a checklist, co-pilot Huang noticed that the monitors in front of Cao, who was sitting on the right-side seat as a co-pilot, were still functional, and Liu decided to let Cao handle the landing. Cao, who had taught at a pilots' school, managed to land the aircraft 28 minutes later, despite the fact that the lever was much harder to manipulate than normal. "My arms were numb when the plane landed," said Cao. "But walking out of the cockpit and looking at the passengers, I knew what I had to do and what my responsibility was as a pilot." In a circular, the CAAC commended the team for their acts on Oct 23.On Wednesday, the CAAC Northwest Regional Administration awarded Yang as an "exceptional captain", and Huang and Cao as "exceptional pilots". The administration praised their skills as well as their composure during the emergency. After listening to the cockpit recording, many netizens praised the pilots' poised discussion with air traffic control during the life-or-death emergency. "It sounded like they were not nervous at all, but the huge sigh of relief after landing gave it away as to how much pressure they were under," said one netizen. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202311/02/WS6542fedaa31090682a5ec064.html Press pool for Biden's Minnesota visit switches aircraft after hearing "bang," seeing "smoke" MINNEAPOLIS — The press covering President Joe Biden's Minnesota visit had to switch aircraft at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport following his arrival. "Shortly after our osprey (Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey) took off poolers heard a bang and smelled smoke. Our chopper landed and we are now switching aircraft," officials said. The press fly in the Ospreys when Biden flies in a helicopter to a destination instead of motorcade. The Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft used to move troops and supplies. It can take off and land like a helicopter, but can also fly like a plane. This is not the first time an Osprey has had technical problems. In August, an Osprey crash killed three U.S. marines and injured 20 others. Before that crash, there had been five fatal crashes of Marine Ospreys since 2012, causing a total of 16 deaths. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/smoke-smelled-and-a-bang-heard-for-press-pool-following-pres-bidens-minnesota-visit/ FBI: Laser sightings documented near airports on Maui, Kauaʻi The FBI’s Honolulu Field Office, Kauaʻi Police Department and Maui Police Department are warning the public that pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal violation that can cause serious injuries and travel delays. Under federal law, knowingly aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft is a felony offense carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine (18 U.S.C. 39A). Additionally, an individual can face as much as 20 years in prison for interference with an aircraft (19 U.S.C. 32). “Pointing a laser at an aircraft is extremely dangerous and puts the lives of those on the aircraft and on the ground at risk,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill. “This action causes an imminent threat to aviation safety with the potential to cause grave danger. It is not a harmless prank, and the FBI, KPD, and MPD takes these incidents very seriously.” Recent sightings of lasers in and around Kahului and Kapalua Airport were reported and documented in the past week. Pilots landing at the airports have experienced a green laser illuminating their aircraft while on approach to land. Neighborhoods with reported incidents include: Kahului, Kapalua, Kīhei, and Nākālele. Locations on Kauaʻi have also had recent laser sightings that have been reported and documented. “I urge our community to understand the gravity of these actions and the potential consequences they carry,” said Maui Chief of Police John Pelletier. “Safety is our top priority, and we will not tolerate any actions that jeopardize the well-being of our community and those traveling through our airspace. Let us work together to ensure the safety of our skies and protect our community from harm.” Members of the public who have witnessed an individual aiming a laser at an aircraft, or about a lasing incident, have multiple options to report the incident. To reach the FBI, call 808-566-4300 (Honolulu Field Office), 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), email tips.fbi.gov, or dial 911. https://mauinow.com/2023/11/01/fbi-laser-sightings-documented-near-airports-on-maui-kaua%CA%BBi/ United Airlines flight scrapes tail during takeoff at Boston Logan Airport A flight leaving Boston Logan International Airport was forced to turn around after a reported tail problem Wednesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The crew onboard United Airlines Flight 2396 reported scraping the tail of the plane on the runway during takeoff around 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 1, the FAA said in a statement sent to MassLive. The Boeing 737 was headed to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. The flight did return and eventually took off and landed safely, according to the FAA. It is unknown how many passengers were on board and there were no reports of any injuries, according to Boston25. https://www.masslive.com/news/2023/11/united-airlines-flight-scrapes-tail-during-takeoff-at-boston-logan-airport.html KLM cancels dozens of flights at Amsterdam airport due to storm AMSTERDAM, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Dutch airline KLM has scrapped dozens of flights to and from Amsterdam Schiphol airport on Thursday as storm Ciaran is expected to hit the Netherlands with wind gusts of up to 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour. "We have decided to cancel all KLM flights to and from Schiphol from early afternoon until the end of the day," the Dutch arm of airline Air France KLM (AIRF.PA) said. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/klm-cancels-dozens-flights-amsterdam-airport-due-storm-2023-11-02/ Southwest Airlines in talks for ‘modest presence' at DFW Airport Southwest, unable to grow at Dallas Love Field, has inquired about DFW Airport’s new Terminal F. A worker directs a Southwest Airlines Co. Boeing 737 passenger jet pushing back from a gate at Midway International Airport (MDW) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Monday, Oct. 11, 2021. Southwest Airlines has talked with DFW International Airport about adding a “modest presence” at the second busiest airport in the world, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said Wednesday, eying the new Terminal F expected to be finished in 2026. On Wednesday at the Skift Aviation Forum, Jordan told attendees a priority for the carrier is to ensure that Southwest keeps its 18 gates at Dallas Love Field. However, after the Wright Amendment’s restrictions expire in 2025, the airline is taking a look at growing in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. “We’re constrained and as the Metroplex continues to grow, the constraint and Love Field becomes more and more of an issue,” Jordan said. In 2025, DFW Airport, the hub of Fort Worth-based American Airlines, could host Southwest flights for the first time. Southwest could also explore another regional airport, potentially McKinney National on the north side of the metropolitan area or Fort Worth Alliance Airport. Dallas could also expand city-owned Love Field, which is now prohibited by federal law and would take the agreement of airlines, airports, and city governments — as well as Congress. Southwest has long preferred Love Field as its North Texas airport, not only because of the legal restrictions but because it’s only a few feet from its corporate headquarters on the southwest side of the airport. Southwest operates about 195 flights a day from Love Field. Airlines are also prohibited from flying outside the U.S. from Love Field, a restriction Southwest would not have at DFW. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/southwest-airlines-in-talks-for-modest-presence-at-dfw-airport/3376142/ Transatlantic airplanes are flying at the ‘speed of sound’ right now. Here’s why An American Airlines Boeing 777 slashed nearly an hour off its flight time today after flying at 778 mph -- faster than the speed of sound. Savior of many a cramped pair of legs, the jet stream is well known for lopping roughly an hour off long haul west-to-east flights. But it’s working especially hard for travelers in economy class right now, with the jet stream over the Atlantic so strong that flights heading from the US to Europe are reaching speeds equivalent to that of sound. Sound travels at about 761 mph or 1,100 feet per second in “sea level standard conditions,” according to NASA – a little over 661 knots. In the past 24 hours, passenger aircraft traveling east from the US across the Atlantic have reached up to 778 mph. That’s a little over 200 miles per hour faster than normal cruising speeds. But if you’re thinking these flight times are a match for the much-missed Concorde, whose sonic booms used to mark it breaking the sound barrier, it’s time to think again. There’s a difference between ground speed and speed in the air (indicated air speed, essentially the speed of the plane in relation to the air around it). These passenger flights, however speedy, didn’t break the sound barrier. But they did slash flight times. Emirates flight 222 from Dallas to Dubai arrived 57 minutes early on November 1, having reached a top speed of 675 knots, or 777 mph, off the coast of Newfoundland, according to flight tracking site Flightaware. American Airlines flight 106 from JFK to Heathrow arrived 54 minutes early on Wednesday morning, with a flight time of just six hours and seven minutes. It reached a top speed of 778 mph, or 676 knots, also just past Newfoundland. Meanwhile Delta flight 186 raced from Los Angeles to London with top speeds of 760mph, arriving half an hour early on November 1 at 1.08 p.m. A KLM cargo plane which took off nearly four hours late on November 1 was due to arrive just under two hours late, traveling from Miami to Amsterdam. The jet stream explained The jet stream is a “core of strong winds around five to seven miles above the Earth’s surface, blowing from west to east,” as the UK’s Met Office describes it. It’s the reason why eastbound flights tend to be shorter than westbound ones – with long haul flights racking up time differences of an hour or more, depending on the direction of travel. Seven miles above the planet’s surface is equivalent to around 37,000 feet – which means that aircraft at cruising altitude slip easily into the jet stream. And it’s the rapidly cooling weather stateside this week (now heading to Europe in the form of Storm Ciaran) that’s responsible for the speeding up of the winds, according to CNN meteorologist Sara Tonks. The world's longest flight spent more than two months in the air “This week’s burst of cold air in the United States has upped the difference in temperature between the United States (cold!) and the Atlantic Ocean (warm!),” she says. “This increase in the temperature gradient is amplifying the speed of the jet stream, which is driven by temperature differences. “The jet stream is expected to help strengthen Storm Ciaran, a low pressure system and potential bomb cyclone that is expected to arrive in Europe tonight [Wednesday].” CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam added: “Remember, ground speed is how fast an airplane is traveling, relative to a fixed point on the ground versus airspeed which is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air through which it is moving. Either way, these planes are saving time and money.” The jet stream is making planes go around 200mph faster than average. However fast the flights this week, they have a little way to make up for some record-breaking flights pre-pandemic. In February 2019, a Virgin Atlantic plane flew at 801mph from Los Angeles to London, reaching its top speed over Pennsylvania thanks to a 200mph jet stream – although it slowed down to a mere 710mph once it hit the ocean. The aircraft – a Boeing 787 Dreamliner – usually has a cruising speed of around 560mph. Virgin founder Richard Branson described it as flying “faster than any other commercial non-supersonic plane in history.” its record was broken the following year by a British Airways Boeing 747. The BA jumbo clocked in at 825mph on a New York to London flight, slashing the journey time from around seven hours to just under five. On that same day, another Virgin Atlantic plane made the same route with a journey time of just two minutes more. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/jet-stream-flights-speed-of-sound/index.html Hawaii-bound United Airlines flight returns to SFO after medical emergency The flight landed back in SFO Monday evening, hours after it departed. A Hawaii-bound United Airlines flight that departed from San Francisco on Monday afternoon had to turn around over the Pacific Ocean, following a medical emergency on board, according to spokespeople for the airline. Flight 1509 returned to San Francisco International Airport shortly after 8 p.m. Monday evening, reported Aviation Source News, an aircraft-focused website based in the United Kingdom. Paramedics met the plane at the gate, and staff from United Airlines arranged for other passengers to resume traveling as soon as possible, representatives of the airline said in a statement. https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/hawaii-bound-united-airlines-flight-returns-sfo-18459631.php ICAO audit team to visit Pakistan Five-day inspection will focus on the flight safety and maintenance standards of CAA KARACHI: A delegation from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is set to arrive in Pakistan on November 5 to conduct an audit of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The audit, spread across five days from November 5-10, will focus on the flight safety and maintenance standards of the aviation regulatory body. The visit is of particular importance as Pakistan strives to regain the nod of approval from the ICAO to recommence flights to Europe and the UK, following a ban from July 2021. The ban was implemented due to concerns arising from the May 20, 2022 plane crash in Karachi and claims made by then Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar that approximately 40% of Pakistani pilots were operating with falsified licences. Headed by Manjeet Singh, the ICAO delegation will conduct an in-depth evaluation of different facets of aviation, which includes license standards, flight safety protocols, and air traffic control guidelines. The delegation will conduct assessments at several locations, including the Lahore and Karachi airports, and the CAA's primary headquarters in Karachi. The team is also expected to scrutinise regulatory preparations and procedures pivotal to Pakistani aviation operations. Earlier in January 2022, the ICAO had conveyed satisfaction with the safety measures put in place by Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority. It is noteworthy that officials from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are also scheduled to arrive later this month. They will be conducting an audit of both the CAA and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). https://tribune.com.pk/story/2444286/icao-audit-team-to-visit-pakistan Conditions That Cause Autorotation Mishaps This autorotation practice by the author in Montana illustrated a higher rate of descent, reduced rotor RPM build in autorotation, low initial rotor RPM response, the requirement for a higher flare height and reduced engine performance for the go-around. There are various flight conditions in which a helicopter will experience significant oscillations that can be difficult to control, and the recommended action is to deliberately place the helicopter into an autorotation. For example, the Robinson R22 flight manual instructs pilots to perform an autorotation in the event of unanticipated right yaw or to be prepared for an autorotation in the event of a malfunction of the clutch. The point is that unlike autorotation practice in which the training maneuver begins from a stable condition (and no surprise), these events occur suddenly and create immense pitch, yaw and/or roll oscillations. Furthermore, these produce a cacophony of somatosensory illusions that can interfere with a pilot’s ability to focus vision and make accurate, fine-tuned muscle movements. An example of the latter situation occurred to the pilot of a Eurocopter EC-130 while conducting a sightseeing flight near Kalapana, Hawaii, on March 5, 2020. The pilot detected the onset of a significant, high frequency vibration. As the helicopter slowed, the 7,878-hour pilot raised the collective and applied right tail rotor pedal, but the nose of the helicopter veered to the left. The pilot eventually applied full right tail rotor pedal, but the nose of the helicopter continued to the left. About 200 ft. above ground level, with the right tail rotor pedal fully depressed, the helicopter began to spin to the left. The pilot attempted to stop the spin to no avail and eventually closed the throttle and performed a hovering autorotation. Two occupants received minor injuries and four others were uninjured. Post-accident investigation found a fracture in a tail rotor blade in the fenestron. Clearly there is no safe method to replicate these abnormal motions in flight training. Unless a pilot has access to a flight training device or simulator that can accurately replicate these malfunctions and provide the sensory “wild ride,” it is entirely likely that a pilot will have no hands-on training in the proper response to these emergencies. Fuel Mismanagement Accidents Fuel drained from the accident helicopter’s gascolator contained a large quantity of water. Credit: NTSB The pilot of a Robinson R44 was conducting agricultural application flight operations on July 27, 2020, near Hebron, Nebraska. During the initial climb-out, the pilot detected a power loss and initiated an autorotation into a cornfield. Substantial damage resulted to the aircraft’s fuselage, tail rotor and horizontal/vertical stabilizers. Fuel drained by accident investigators from the gascolator, or fuel strainer, revealed a large quantity of water. On the evening prior to the accident, over 4 in. of rainfall had occurred at the airport. A fuel cap may have inadvertently been left off a fuel storage tank, allowing water to enter the tank. The operator admitted that rushing contributed to loading unfiltered fuel into the helicopter. The pilot did not sump the helicopter’s fuel tanks as required by the flight manual. The NTSB determined the loss of engine power was caused by water contamination in the fuel system. These self-inflicted errors from fuel mismanagement, which included either fuel contamination or fuel exhaustion, occurred in seven accidents in the data sample. To put this into perspective, roughly 10% of the autorotation accidents in the four-year period could have been prevented through proper fuel management procedures. Importance Of Realistic Training The NTSB’s investigation of the accident emphasized the importance of realistic autorotation training in all environmental conditions. However, in-flight training of autorotations requires tightly controlling as much risk as possible. This includes no “surprise” simulated engine failures, and not practicing the maneuver in less than “good” conditions. The problem is that in the real world, an autorotation can occur at any moment without warning and during environmental conditions that are adverse, such as experienced by aerial firefighting helicopters near a wildfire. In-helicopter autorotation training has the further disadvantages of being time-consuming and expensive. The author’s hands-on experiences in the EC-135 Level D full-motion simulator at Metro Aviation’s Training Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the Loft Dynamics (formerly VRM Switzerland) H-125 flight training device in Zürich, Switzerland, explored the realism to practice abnormal flight conditions, including autorotations. The advantages of a simulator are clearly evident during the practice of emergency procedures. Simulators allow a demonstration of an ideal maneuver as well as how not to do the maneuver, presenting common errors and ways to avoid them. Dozens of emergency maneuvers can be performed during a two-hour training session, many more than could be done in an actual rotorcraft in the same time frame. Risk-free practice of these maneuvers for variations in rotorcraft weight, density altitude, wind speed, and direction show how each factor will individually or in combination affect performance of an autorotation. How do we provide sufficient training to pilots to make certain they are proficient in the complex emergency procedures in a rotorcraft under a variety of real-world conditions? The NTSB’s “Safety Through Helicopter Simulators” safety alert provides a clear recommendation. “Consistent, standardized simulator training will help prepare pilots for the unexpected and will decrease the risk of an accident,” the safety board says. “Simulators can be a helpful tool for operators to provide pilot training on autorotations during any phase of flight, which reinforces the immediate responses required during actual emergencies.” On a final note, Claude Vuichard demonstrated his modification to autorotation flares during our visit at Loft Dynamics. He demonstrated in the H-125 flight training device the advantages of his proposed modification while landing on a steep mountain slope. “Thought provoking” was my reaction. Vuichard recently introduced the new technique to helicopter operators in the Alps. Could his proposed method help to reduce autorotation accidents? Given the credibility of his contributions with vortex ring state, his proposal for autorotation recovery is worth a full vetting from the noteworthy authorities in helicopter training, safety, human factors and aerodynamics. https://aviationweek.com/business-aviation/safety-ops-regulation/conditions-cause-autorotation-mishaps-part-3 Russian aviation sector faces turbulence as concerns mount over passenger safety Russia’s aviation industry is facing heavy turbulence, as concerns for passenger safety mount in the face of poor maintenance, a lack of spare parts and regular breakdowns. The sector, heavily reliant on international suppliers, has been among the hardest hit by Western sanctions over Moscow’s assault on Ukraine. Cut off from Europe’s Airbus and US-based Boeing, Russian airlines are facing particular trouble securing and maintaining both physical parts and advanced software needed to keep planes in the air, experts say. “The conditions in which Russian airlines operate have certainly become much more difficult and the risks for the industry have obviously increased,” Oleg Panteleyev, director of AviaPort.ru, an agency specializing in the Russian aviation industry told AFP. Several recent incidents have highlighted the concerns. In August, passengers on a Red Wings flight were stuck in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg for 24 hours due to simultaneous “technical malfunctions” on the only two available aircraft. The company pointed to “external sanctions” and “restrictions on the supply of spare parts, which complicates aircraft maintenance” in a press release. The same month a Russian Pegas Fly plane was delayed in Thailand due to faults with its weather monitoring system. At the start of October, Flagcarrier Aeroflot suffered three technical failures to its planes in a single day. The Kremlin has acknowledged that all is not well in Russia’s aviation industry. “We are facing new challenges, and we are looking for new ways to resolve them,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, when asked about the headwinds buffetting Russia’s aviation sector. Several Russian airlines and the federal aviation agency did not respond to AFP requests to comment. Escalating risks The majority of planes operated by Russian airlines are made by either Airbus or Boeing, Western companies that have stopped doing business with Russia. The main problems for Russian airlines centre around engine maintainance and computer systems. S7, Russia’s largest private airline, will reduce the number of flights by 10-15 percent over the 2023-2024 autumn/winter period due to maintenance problems concerning the US-made engines for its Airbus planes, Russian media reported. Unable to secure original parts for their Western-made jets, Russian companies have resorted to cannibalising their existing fleet -- grounding entire planes to strip them for parts. Such a solution is seen as a short-term fix. Russia is no stranger to air disasters as a result of pressure on the industry. The country saw a string of crashes that killed hundreds in the 1990s and early 2000s, due to an ageing Soviet fleet and poorly maintained aircrafts. Permanently cutting down on air travel altogether is also a non-starter in a country that spans 11 time zones. Western countries, including the European Union, United States and Britain, have banned Russian airlines from operating in their airspace. So far, domestic air traffic inside Russia has not fallen since the start of Russia’s offensive on Ukraine. The Aviation Safety Network (ASN) also reported the number of aviation incidents in Russia over the period has stayed within the range recorded in previous years. But as time passes, the risks are likely to increase. Domestic replacements? Russian politicians have pinned their hopes on building hundreds of home-made planes to replace the Western models. But Russia’s recent record of making planes is patchy. The country’s main post-Soviet model -- the Sukhoi Superjet -- already had a reputation as prone to breakdowns and accidents even before Western sanctions. Plans for a new medium-haul jet, the Irkut MS-21, have fallen far behind schedule. In April, a Russian airline association expressed concern over the slow production schedule for new domestic planes that they hope will replace their Western-made fleet. “Maintaining the airworthiness of the foreign aircraft we have requires significant expenditure,” the Russian Association of Air Transport Operators said in a report. Unless Moscow succeeds in either circumventing Western sanctions to secure aircraft parts or flying under-maintained planes, Russia’s fleet numbers could drop by more than a third -- from 850 to 554 -- by 2033, analysts at consultancy Oliver Wyman say. Almost two years into the Ukraine conflict, Kyiv has revelled in the turbulence facing the Russian industry as a result of sanctions. After the Russian Pegas Fly plane was temporarily grounded in Thailand earlier this year, Ukrainian presidential advisor Andriy Yermak wrote on social media: “We will do everything we can to ensure more news like this.” https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2023/11/01/Russian-aviation-sector-faces-turbulence-as-concerns-mount-over-passenger-safety CALENDAR OF EVENTS • CHC Safety & Quality Summit 2023: November 14 – 16, 2023 • 2024 ACSF Safety Symposium – Air Charter Safety Foundation - April 1-3, 2024 • 2024 ISASI - Lisbon, Portugal - September 30 to October 4, 2024 Curt Lewis