Flight Safety Information - November 16, 2023 No. 223 In This Issue : Incident: Asiana B772 at Singapore on Nov 16th 2023, engine shut down in flight : Incident: Azul A20N at Sao Paulo on Nov 15th 2023, hard touchdown : Incident: LATAM Brasil A320 at Sao Jose Do Rio Preto on Nov 14th 2023, nearly landed on wrong airport : Staffing and Technology Woes Threaten Aviation Safety, Report Says : American Airlines passenger fined almost $40,000 for being disruptive : Rolls-Royce cranks world's largest jet engine up to maximum power : Emirates buys 15 Airbus jets in reprieve from engine row : Flight Safety Founda1on seeks avia1on auditors in Africa, Americas to grow the BARS Program : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: Asiana B772 at Singapore on Nov 16th 2023, engine shut down in flight An Asiana Boeing 777-200, registration HL7700 performing flight OZ-754 from Singapore (Singapore) to Seoul (South Korea) with 279 people on board, was climbing out of Singapore's runway 02R when the crew stopped the climb at 2000 feet due to the failure of the right hand engine (PW4090) and secured the engine. The aircraft climbed to FL070 to dump fuel and returned to Singapore for a safe landing on runway 02R about 45 minutes after departure. The airline reported the right hand engine failure causing high exhaust gas temperatures, sparks flying from the engine and vibrations of the engine. A replacement flight is expected to depart with a delay of about 10 hours, the passengers were provided with transportation and hotel accomodation. https://avherald.com/h?article=51137490&opt=0 Incident: Azul A20N at Sao Paulo on Nov 15th 2023, hard touchdown An Azul Linhas Aereas Airbus A320-200N, registration PR-YRI performing flight AD-4251 from Recife,PE to Sao Paulo Congonhas,SP (Brazil), was in the flare to Congonhas' runway 35L when after passing the runway threshold the sinkrate increased causing the aircraft to touch down hard past the runway threshold but short of the runway aiming markers at 11:34L (15:34Z). The crew balked the landing and initiated a go around, positioned for another approach to runway 35L and landed without further incident about 16 minutes after the go around. There were no injuries. The aircraft is still on the ground at Congonhas Airport about 20 hours after landing. A passenger reported there was a very strong impact and loud noise, everybody screamed. https://avherald.com/h?article=51136dc1&opt=0 Incident: LATAM Brasil A320 at Sao Jose Do Rio Preto on Nov 14th 2023, nearly landed on wrong airport A LATAM Brasil Airbus A320-200, registration PR-MHM performing flight LA-4640 from Sao Paulo Guarulhos,SP (Brazil) to Sao Jose Do Rio Preto,SP (Brazil), was on approach to Sao Jose Do Rio Preto when the crew reported they had a GPS mismatch. Soon after the crew advised they were now beginning the RNAV approach procedure to Sao Jose, when ATC sent them back to the approach frequency. After talking to approach the crew again reported on Sao Jose's frequency and advised they were now beginning their 360 degrees turn to descend. Sao Jose again advised the crew to return onto the approach frequency, the crew declined they were busy with the approach and stated they had the airport in sight, Sao Jose explained they were approaching the wrong airport, Catanduva Aerodrome. The crew initiated a go around at about 1000 feet AGL, contacted approach and now positioned to the correct airport for a safe landing. Catanduva features an asphalt runway of 3232 feet length, Sao Jose an asphalt runway of 5381 feet length. The occurrence aircraft departed for the return flight about 15 minutes after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=5112f871&opt=0 Staffing and Technology Woes Threaten Aviation Safety, Report Says The Federal Aviation Administration turned to outside experts after a string of near collisions. They called for addressing the shortage of air traffic controllers and improving aging tech. A group of outside experts appointed by the Federal Aviation Administration called on Wednesday for “urgent action” to address safety risks in the nation’s aviation system, highlighting issues like staffing shortages among air traffic controllers and outdated technology. The F.A.A. announced the formation of the group, the National Airspace System Safety Review Team, in April after a string of close calls at airports across the country, and the panel issued a 52-page report on Wednesday laying out its findings. In addition to calling for the F.A.A. to address the shortage of air traffic controllers and improve its aging technology, the report also recommended changes in how the agency is funded, such as more broadly shielding it from government shutdowns. “The current erosion in the margin of safety in the N.A.S. caused by the confluence of these challenges is rendering the current level of safety unsustainable,” the report said, referring to what is known as the National Airspace System. The group of experts was led by Michael P. Huerta, who served as F.A.A. administrator under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald J. Trump. It also included other former federal officials and former union leaders. “There are no easy short-term fixes to address many of these challenges,” Mr. Huerta told reporters on Wednesday. “Addressing risk in the N.A.S. requires the F.A.A., the administration, Congress and others across industry to work together collaboratively.” Investigations published by The New York Times in August and in October revealed how the nation’s vaunted aviation safety system is under mounting stress. The Times found that close calls involving commercial airlines had been happening, on average, multiple times a week. A dire shortage of air traffic controllers — The Times found that 99 percent of the country’s air traffic control facilities were understaffed — has been one major factor. The report released on Wednesday also warned about the risks posed by aging technology. In January, an F.A.A. system outage caused flights to be grounded nationwide and led to a wave of delays and cancellations for travelers. “The age and condition of F.A.A. facilities and equipment are elevating system risk to unsustainable levels, even before considering losses in efficiency from outdated technology,” the report said. The agency has said that it has taken steps to reduce the risk of close calls at airports, such as by providing funding to reconfigure taxiways and improve runway lighting. “The F.A.A. welcomes the independent Safety Review Team’s report, and we will thoroughly review the recommendations,” the agency’s new administrator, Michael G. Whitaker, whom the Senate confirmed last month, said in a statement. “We appreciate the team’s time and expertise to help us pursue our goal of zero serious close calls.” The near misses have also caught the attention of Congress. A Senate subcommittee held a hearing on the topic last week, and among the witnesses was Jennifer L. Homendy, the chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating a number of close-call incidents. “While these events are incredibly rare, our safety system is showing clear signs of strain that we cannot ignore,” Ms. Homendy said. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/15/us/politics/air-traffic-safety-faa.html American Airlines passenger fined almost $40,000 for being disruptive The federal district court in Arizona ordered an American Airlines passenger to pay the carrier $38,952 after she pleaded guilty to interfering with a flight crew member. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Arizona, Cayla Farris used profanity and threatened flight crew members while traveling from Phoenix to Hawaii on Feb. 13, 2022. Prosecutors say her behavior prevented flight attendants from carrying out their duties and the captain decided to return to Phoenix. In addition to the fine, Farris was sentenced to time served of 3.6 months in prison and three years of supervised release. During the release period, she will not be able to fly on a commercial aircraft without prior authorization. The government has been stepping up enforcement around air rage incidents in recent years after onboard acting out spiked earlier in the pandemic. There were almost 6,000 reported unruly passenger incidents in 2021, compared to about 1,100 in 2019. The number of cases has fallen in recent years but remains above pre-pandemic level. Federal Aviation Administration data shows there have been 1,820 unruly passenger reports so far in 2023. Experts say airplanes can be petri dishes for bad behavior as travelers are crammed together and often stressed about getting where they need to be. Federal law requires passengers to obey crewmember instructions. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2023/11/15/american-airlines-passenger-disruptive-behavior-fine/71596484007/ Rolls-Royce cranks world's largest jet engine up to maximum power Rolls-Royce has taken a major green step, announcing that not only has its giant UltraFan demo jet engine been run at full power on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), but tests have proven all its current civilian engines are compatible with 100% SAF. With increasing pressure on the aerospace industry to produce technology that's both more efficient and environmentally friendly, it's significant when a major player like Rolls-Royce embraces something like SAF across an entire product range, including its show piece for this decade. Billed as the largest and most powerful jet engine in the world, the UltraFan has a 140-in (356-cm) fan and can produce 64 MW of power. In static tests, it has generated a maximum thrust of over 85,000 lb and the technology can be scaled to as high as 110,000 lb for narrow-body or wide-body aircraft of the 2030s. But the UltraFan's party piece is its geared turbofan with a variable pitch fan system. This allows the engine's turbine and fan to each run at its optimum speed and the carbon composite fan blades can vary their pitch to optimize each phase of flight. The use of composites means that the engine is lighter than an equivalent using titanium alloy and it is 10% more efficient than the previous Trent XWB. According to Rolls-Royce, some of the technologies developed for the UltraFan can be incorporated into the company's other current engines, but one thing they share in common is that they have all been certified as compatible with running solely on SAF. The latest to be certified is the BR710 business jet engine, which was tested at the company’s facility in Canada. Other engines include the Trent 700, Trent 800, Trent 900, Trent 1000, Trent XWB-84, Trent XWB-97, Trent 7000, BR725, Pearl 700, Pearl 15, and Pearl 10X. A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner with Trent 1000 engines is scheduled to make the world's first transatlantic flight fueled entirely by SAF. Currently, international standards only allow a maximum of 50% SAF to be blended with 50% conventional jet fuel. It's hoped that such test flights and static demonstrations the technical hurdles have been overcome could change this. "We estimate that to reach Net Zero flying by 2050, a combination of highly-efficient, latest-generation gas turbines such as UltraFan operating on 100% SAF are likely to contribute around 80% of the total solution, which is why today’s announcement is such an important milestone for Rolls-Royce and the wider industry," said Simon Burr, Group Director of Engineering, Technology and Safety, Rolls-Royce plc. Source: Rolls-Royce https://newatlas.com/aircraft/rolls-royce-worlds-largest-jet-engine-maximum-power/ Emirates buys 15 Airbus jets in reprieve from engine row DUBAI, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Airbus won a consolation order for 15 A350-900 jets from Emirates on Thursday after a public row between the Mideast giant and engine maker Rolls-Royce prevented a bigger deal for European jets at a Dubai Airshow dominated by Boeing. Want to test drive our new stock info page? Emirates Chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said the long-haul jets would "add to our fleet mix, and we are pleased to announce additional orders for this aircraft type". However, industry sources described the deal as a face-saving compromise after the influential carrier criticised the amount of maintenance needed to keep the engines for the larger A350-1000 flying in hot and sandy conditions of the Gulf. Sheikh Ahmed said Emirates would "work closely with Airbus and Rolls-Royce to ensure our aircraft deliver the best possible operating efficiency and flying experience for our customers". The deal, which Emirates said was worth $6 billion, followed intense negotiations focusing on the needs of the Gulf as it fends off new competition from Turkey, India and elsewhere to its East-West transit model, while shedding light on broader industry tensions over rising engine costs. Emirates is by far the biggest user of the Airbus A380 after investing heavily in the world's largest airliner, and is now planning the fleet needed to keep its Dubai super-hub at the centre of the aviation map beyond the 2030s as the A380 retires. The airline opened this week's air show with a $52 billion order for 90 Boeing 777X airplanes, saying the U.S. planemaker appeared to be getting a grip on regulatory and other problems surrounding its entry to service after five years of delays. But Emirates Airline President Tim Clark refused to place a large order for Airbus' broadly similar A350-1000 and blasted Rolls-Royce over the disruption and cost of dealing with frequent maintenance needed to keep the plane's engines running. Emirates would have ordered 35-50 of the planes, he said. Rolls-Royce acknowledged its engine for the A350-1000 would need more servicing than Emirates would like, but denied Clark's suggestion that the XWB-97 engine was "defective". Chief Customer Officer Ewen McDonald said deal for the A350-900, which uses a different variant of engine, was a sign of the airline's trust in Rolls-Royce and held out hope for a future order for the A350-1000. "We will continue our discussions with Emirates on the A350-1000 engine improvements and look forward to them choosing this aircraft in the future," he said. Emirates has already ordered 50 A350-900s which are scheduled to arrive from August next year. Delegates said earlier a top-up order would be seen as a consolation prize for Airbus and Rolls-Royce after Boeing and its main engine supplier GE won the majority of deals, but would leave questions over Airbus's ability to compete with Boeing's 777X in the lucrative Gulf market. "It is...just to keep the relationship going and so they can talk again," a senior aviation industry source said. Investors are expected to quiz Rolls-Royce about the durability and pricing of its engines at a Nov. 28 investor day. Rolls-Royce said earlier in week it was looking at applying technology from its Ultrafan research project to the XWB-97. BOEING DOMINATES ORDERS In a week dominated by soaring demand for wide-body planes, Boeing won new orders for 196 aircraft while Airbus agreed deals for 55 jets. Airbus said it had reached an "agreement in principle" for a significant order from Turkish Airlines, but industry sources said the deal had not yet been signed. Emirates also agreed to buy five additional 787 Dreamliners, while sister airline flyDubai went for 30 with its first wide-body order. Although political power is consolidated in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, Monday's high-profile announcement overseen by Dubai's crown prince was symbolic of the value the UAE places on its bilateral relationship with the United States after a recent period of strain, said sources familiar with the matter. In other business, Turkey-based budget carrier SunExpress announced an order for 45 Boeing 737 MAX narrow-bodies and used the spotlight to issue a reminder of the industry's supply chain problems. Ethiopian Airlines announced it was buying 20 737 MAX jets nearly five years after the fatal 2019 MAX crash that led to the grounding of the global fleet. It also ordered 11 Dreamliners. EgyptAir said it was ordering 10 A350-900s from Airbus, while AirBaltic announced it was buying 30 Airbus A220-300s. Royal Air Maroc signed a repeat order for two additional 787 Dreamliners. EgyptAir said it would lease 18 new Boeing 737 MAX jets from Air Lease Corp. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-airbus-nears-compromise-deal-083245168.html Flight Safety Founda1on seeks avia1on auditors in Africa, Americas to grow the BARS Program The Flight Safety Foundation is inviting applications from aviation audit organisations operating in Africa, Asia Pacific, North America, and South America to partner with its Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) Program to expand global access to the industry-leading safety initiative. The Flight Safety Foundation is seeking to expand the pool of registered BARS audit companies to assist air operators in identifying any deficiencies in their safety oversight and potential risks, which can be addressed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of safe operations. Gaining BARS Audit Company accreditation can open significant new markets for aviation audit companies in contract aviation and emerging sectors such as Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). More than 300 aircraft and RPAS operators participate in the BARS Program worldwide. The BARS Program was originally developed to meet the needs of the mining and resources sector, but its application has expanded to other organizations that use aviation to support their activities. These include government agencies, energy companies, oil and gas companies, and humanitarian and other aid agencies. Since the establishment of the BARS Program in 2010, there has been a continued downward trend in aviation-linked accidents and fatalities in the onshore resources sector. The BARS Program has also developed an audit and registration program for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)/Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to clearly articulate and verify what procedures, processes and systems operators need to have in place to mitigate risk. The Audit Company application is now open to auditing organisations who specialise in delivering RPAS/UAV/drone audit works. To become a registered BARS Audit Company, the organisations must be financially sound, have a deep knowledge of aviation regulations, safety protocols and best practices. They must have a comprehensive approach to auditing, covering all aspects of aviation operations including safety management systems, regulatory compliance, risk assessment and quality control. Only trained and accredited BARS Auditors can be used in the conduct of a BARS audit and other services associated with the program. All auditors working in the BARS Program are required to successfully undertake the BARS Auditor Accreditation Course (AAC) before participating in a BARS Audit. In its 12 years of operation, the BARS Program has conducted more than 1300 audit events for more than 300 aircraft and RPAS operators in 42 countries. For more information on the BARS Program, please review the Flight Safety Foundation BARS Program website at https://flightsafety.org/bars/ To Register interest in applying for BARS Audit Company accreditation, please contact BARS@flightsafety.org About Flight Safety Foundation the Basic Aviation Risk Standard Program FSF is an independent, international, and impartial non-profit that exists to champion the cause of aviation safety. The Foundation established the Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) Program in 2010 to review aviation operators providing aviation services to the resources and other sectors. The BARS Program is made up of a suite of risk-based aviation industry standards with supporting implementation guidelines. The BARS Program has operated for 12 years, with more than 1120 audits in 45 different countries for more than 235 aircraft operators. As a result, about 281 000 questions have been asked as part of our structured audits, identifying some 18 000 non-conformities. Find out more about FSF at their website: www.flightsafety.org CALENDAR OF EVENTS • 2024 Women in Aviation International Conference - March 21-23 (Orlando) • 2024 ACSF Safety Symposium – Air Charter Safety Foundation - April 1-3, 2024 • 2024 ISASI - Lisbon, Portugal - September 30 to October 4, 2024 • 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition - Oct. 22-24 (Vegas) Curt Lewis