Flight Safety Information - December 6, 2023 No. 233 In This Issue : Incident: Ryanair UK B738 near Faro on Dec 5th 2023, pilot unwell : Incident: Sunclass A39N at Phuket on Dec 1st 2023, temporary runway excursion on landing : FBI investigating flight diverted to Jacksonville for ‘incident on-board the aircraft’ : Freezing rain forces Munich Airport to suspend all flights on Tuesday morning : Possible near-miss at Austin airport as Southwest flight tries to land : American Eagle to bring Wi-Fi to nearly 500 regional aircraft : Structural Cracks Ground All U.S. Coast Guard C-27J Spartan Patrol Aircraft : Mexican airline Volaris reaches accord with P&W on GTF motor inspections : Frontier Airlines, EEOC reach agreement concerning lactating pilots : First batch of Hong Kong Cathay Pacific pilots graduates from 75-week integrated training programme : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: Ryanair UK B738 near Faro on Dec 5th 2023, pilot unwell A Ryanair UK Boeing 737-800, registration G-RUKI performing flight RK-8528 from London Stansted,EN (UK) to Ouarzazate (Marocco), was enroute at FL410 about 120nm south of Faro (Portugal) when one of the pilots felt unwell prompting the crew to decide to divert to Faro, where the aircraft landed on runway 10 about 30 minutes later. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration EI-EBC positioned from Porto (Portugal) to Faro, resumed the flight and delivered the passengers to Ouarzazate with a delay of about 3 hours. The airline reported the aircraft diverted to Faro due to one of the pilots feeling ill, there was no emergency. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Faro about 11 hours after landing. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=51209aca&opt=0 Incident: Sunclass A39N at Phuket on Dec 1st 2023, temporary runway excursion on landing A Sunclass Airlines Airbus A330-900N, registration OY-VKO performing flight DK-2564 from Stockholm (Sweden) to Phuket (Thailand), landed on Phuket's runway 09 at 18:00L (11:00Z) but touched down on the left edge of the runway colliding with a runway edge light before the aircraft was steered onto the runway center line. One of the tyres received a puncture as result of the collision with the runway edge light. Passengers described a rough landing. The airline reported there were strong crosswind gusts during landing causing one of the aircraft's wheels to go off the runway and collide with a runway edge light, the tyre suffered a puncture. The aircraft rolled out without further incident and taxied to the apron. The aircraft is still in Phuket standing Dec 5th 2023. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=51209687&opt=0 FBI investigating flight diverted to Jacksonville for ‘incident on-board the aircraft’ JACKSONVILLE. Fla. — The Federal Bureau of Investigations is investigating an incident that caused a flight to be diverted to Jacksonville. According to Jacksonville International Airport, Breeze Flight 717 departed from Orlando heading to Providence, Rhode Island. Due to an incident on board the aircraft, the plane was diverted to Jacksonville. The FBI confirmed that it’s working to determine what exactly happened to cause the flight to land at JAX. “FBI Jacksonville has responded and is working with partners to ensure the safety of all passengers,” the FBI said in a statement. Breeze Airways released its own statement. “Breeze is working with the authorities in Jacksonville to investigate the situation. Safety is our paramount concern and we will share more information as it becomes available.” The FBI did add that at this time there is no indication of a legitimate threat. https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/fbi-investigating-flight-diverted-jacksonville-incident-on-board-aircraft/BO5PSUOPGFHB5PSP6OAC6SVB2I/ Freezing rain forces Munich Airport to suspend all flights on Tuesday morning BERLIN — Munich Airport temporarily suspended flight operations on Tuesday morning due to freezing rain as cold weather continues to affect the region, leading to a fatal accident in Bavaria. All flights were either canceled or postponed between 6 a.m. and noon (0500-1100 GMT), with the airport warning that many flights scheduled for later in the day might also be affected by the severe weather conditions. The airport, Germany's second-biggest, announced the temporary shutdown on Monday night as a result of weather forecasts for Tuesday. "The operating areas will be de-iced in the first half of the day. The plan is to allow air traffic to resume from midday," the airport said on its website. "However, it can be assumed that the majority of flights will also have to be canceled during the rest of the day for safety reasons." Tuesday's cancellations came after all flights at Munich Airport were grounded on Saturday following heavy snowfall in the city and in Germany's southern state of Bavaria. Road traffic and train connections were also hampered by the weather conditions. Two people died in a collision between a car and a tractor-trailer on the A8 highway in Upper Bavaria. According to the police, their car skidded under the rear of a truck, which had come to a stop across the highway overnight from Monday to Tuesday due to frozen rain on the highway's surface, German news agency dpa reported. The A99 near Munich was shutdown in both direction after 13 vehicles were involved in a mass accident, dpa reported. There was no immediate information about possible injuries. Train operator Deutsche Bahn said traffic in the Munich region would be affected for several days. "At present, access to Munich's main station is severely restricted. Only a few long-distance trains are therefore running to and from Munich," it said on its website on Tuesday. Rail services to the Austrian cities of Salzburg and Innsbruck, as well as Zurich in Switzerland, remained suspended. Deutsche Bahn said that there could also be train cancellations and delays in other parts of southern Germany. Passengers were asked to postpone non-essential journeys to Wednesday. Southern Germany as well as neighboring Austria and Switzerland have been experiencing heavy snowfall which has affected public transport all over the region and led to alarm about possible avalanches. https://www.npr.org/2023/12/05/1217246827/freezing-rain-forces-munich-airport-to-suspend-all-flights-on-tuesday-morning Possible near-miss at Austin airport as Southwest flight tries to land The FAA said a plane returned to the air after starting to land at AUS after learning the runway was not yet clear. AUSTIN (KXAN) — Data from a Southwest flight from Nashville to Austin indicates a plane was 600ft off the ground before it returned to the air for several minutes Monday night. A viewer tip said the plane circled in the air to avoid an aircraft already on the runway. The tip sent in through ReportIt@kxan.com said the flight started its descent just after 6pm. It said the pilot of the plane announced “there was a small aircraft on the runway moving too slow so they couldn’t land.” FlightAware data from Monday showed Nashville flight SWA2959 starting its landing to AUS at 6:08 p.m., getting down to 600ft before climbing back up to 2,850ft. The plane then returned for a landing at 6:17 p.m. A spokesperson with Southwest said the situation described “sounds like a standard go-around procedure” and that this is something “pilots train for and encounter somewhat regularly.” In a statement, the FAA said “an air traffic controller instructed Southwest Airlines Flight 2959 to perform a go-around at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 6:06 p.m. local time on Monday, December 4, because another aircraft had not yet exited the runway. There was no loss of safe separation between the Southwest flight and any other aircraft.” V. Carson Pearce, director of aviation science at Texas A&M University Central Texas said go-around maneuvers are a semi-regular occurrence for pilots and are not necessarily caused by an emergency. “I’ve done go arounds where I found animals on the runway or trash that blew in during a windstorm so it’s whatever the condition is. If the pilot or tower determines that it’s a potential hazard to the aircraft, it’s safer to go around, let things settle,” Pearce said. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a near midair collision is defined as when “a possibility of collision occurs as a result of proximity of less than 500 feet to another aircraft, or a report is received from a pilot or a flight crewmember stating that a collision hazard existed between two or more aircraft.” Over the last year, there have been several near-misses at the Austin airport which has prompted agencies to step in and improve safety measures. NTSB continues investigating near-miss between 2 planes at AUS in February Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board released a 3,000 page report about a near miss at AUS in February. In this incident, a FedEx flight had been cleared for landing – shortly before its expected landing a Southwest flight was cleared to depart from the same runway. https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/southwest-flight-returns-to-air-after-runway-not-clear-at-austin-airport-faa-says/ American Eagle to bring Wi-Fi to nearly 500 regional aircraft American Eagle, the regional branch of American Airlines, plans to introduce in-flight connectivity to nearly 500 regional aircraft over the next two years, starting from the beginning of 2024. American currently provides high-speed Wi-Fi on more than 900 mainline aircraft, bringing the total number of American aircraft with satellite connection to more than 1,400 following the introduction of Intelsat’s Electronically Steered Array (ESA) antennae to American’s regional fleet. The Intelsat ESA antennae is multi-orbit, interoperating on both Intelsat’s geo-stationary satellites and on a constellation of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. https://www.laranews.net/american-eagle-to-bring-wi-fi-to-nearly-500-regional-aircraft/ Structural Cracks Ground All U.S. Coast Guard C-27J Spartan Patrol Aircraft The Coast Guard's mid-range airlifted is in trouble. U.S. COAST GUARD Structural cracking has forced the U.S. Coast Guard to ground its entire fleet of 14 C-27J Spartan maritime patrol aircraft, slashing the Coast Guard’s fixed-wing surveillance and light transport capabilities. As a precautionary measure, the Coast Guard first grounded their twin-engine C-27J fleet over the weekend, after the plane’s manufacturer, Italian aerospace conglomerate Leonardo, issued an Alert Service Bulletin directing users to inspect for cracks in the upper rear of the aircraft, where the Spartan’s horizontal and vertical stabilizers attach to the fuselage. According to a Coast Guard spokesperson, all 14 C-27J aircraft in the inventory “have been inspected and have cracks of varying degrees.” Leonardo issued a confident statement late Tuesday, saying the company “has already identified a repair solution in case an issue is actually detected,” and “the implementation of such repair can be performed at customer premises by the Operators and does not require significant effort.” Leonardo continued, saying, “The reported issue is therefore not expected to affect planned aircraft operations.” Unfortunately, the issue had already been detected, and already appears to be affecting U.S. aircraft operations, with the Coast Guard saying, quite plainly, that their C-27J fleet “will remain grounded until a thorough evaluation is completed, and any issues are addressed.” If the grounding drags out, the operational consequences for the U.S. Coast Guard will likely prove significant. The mid-range, fixed-wing patrol aircraft primarily operates in the Pacific, where it is a critical enabler of the Coast Guard’s drug and migrant interdiction, disaster response and search-and-rescue missions. While the agency has few alternatives to fill the operational hole, the Coast Guard is trying its best, relating through a spokesperson that “we are currently assessing our aviation force laydown to address the stand-down of these airframes.” For the United States, the Coast Guard’s highly-utilized C-27J fleet is facing the brunt of the problems. A U.S. Army Special Operations spokesperson said Tuesday that none of the seven U.S. Army Special Operations Command C-27Js were grounded and “don’t show signs of cracking at the points of emphasis.” Sources with direct knowledge of the issue told me Tuesday that new fatigue cracks were discovered elsewhere in the aircraft, but that none were judged to be severe enough to warrant a safety stand-down. Though the full extent of the C-27J cracking problem is unclear within the U.S. fleet, the implications appear likely to reach well beyond the United States. With some 17 nations operating around 90 C-27J airframes, any extended safety stand-down and repair process threatens to disrupt mid-range tactical transport and maritime surveillance missions worldwide. There was no news as to what spurred the fleet-wide inspections, and the incident appears to be unrelated to a hard landing by a Chadian Air Force C-27J last week. The issue was likely identified somewhere in the close-knit Spartan operational community. Italy, Australia, Greece and Romania all operate large and busy C-27J fleets, fielding a sufficient number of platforms to identify operational trends. While Australia has been pushing their fleet of 10 C-27Js into the remote Pacific, European operators, in the face of the Ukraine war, may have increased the operational tempo of their mid-range transport aircraft, subjecting the aircraft to unusual stressors. If the cracking problems are significant, the C-27J may be reaching the end of the road in the U.S.. The aircraft has struggled since it first entered U.S. service in 2008, and America’s Spartan operators are, by now, no strangers to fleet-wide safety stand-downs and long post-accident investigations. A Coast Guard spokesperson noted the C-27Js had already been “temporarily grounded in June and July 2023 due to fleet-wide mechanical issues.” One member of the Coast Guard C-27J community interviewed for this article worried that the airframe’s poor availability this year risked degrading the proficiency of the Coast Guard’s cadre of C-27J pilots and enlisted crew members. In America, the mid-sized twin-engined turboprop has few allies. The Spartan, purchased as a smaller, more efficient substitute for the far-larger U.S.-built Lockheed-Martin C-130J Hercules transport, has been perceived as a rival, competing for a niche transport role that the powerful C-130 community is loath to yield. The C-27Js have not been able to perform, and the distinguishing operational features that differentiate the C-27 from the four-engined C-130J—robust utility in small, austere airstrips—are rarely fully exploited by the U.S. Coast Guard. Unfortunately for the C-27J, the cost savings from the smaller aircraft are often offset by the C-27J’s operational hiccups, small user base sustainment issues, and complex management challenges inherent in any non-U.S.-built platform. The robust C-2J has a use case. But while the Spartan is cheaper to operate and can, in Pacific or Caribbean backwaters, fit into more places than the Coast Guard’s far-larger C-130s, each fleet-wide grounding poses an ever-greater existential threat to the Spartan. If the this latest operational setback devolves into a long-term operational pause, the incident may well prove to be the final straw in the Coast Guard’s long-troubled C-27J program, pushing the agency to, at a minimum, explore other options for maritime surveillance and tactical transport. Will Grounding Kill The Coast Guard’s Troubled Spartans? To fill the requirement for a mid-sized patrol aircraft, the Coast Guard operates 18 Atlantic and Gulf Coast-based Airbus HC-144 Ocean Sentries and 14 C-27J Spartans. The Spartan fleet, split between an operational detachment at Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, California, and the HC-27J Asset Project Office in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, has an interesting and controversial history. After entering into U.S. Service 16 years ago, the first Spartans were farmed out to National Guard units. Some were sent to Afghanistan to help handle logistical needs in the battlefield. But, by 2013, before all the bugs could be worked out of the platform, the Air Force—never a big fan of the platform—cancelled the entire C-27J program. Even though Leonardo was delivering brand-new aircraft, the otherwise unused transports were dispatched straight to the Air Force boneyard. They didn’t rest long. By 2013, Congress had allocated a portion of the available aircraft for the Coast Guard, and, by 2014, the first few used aircraft began entering the Coast Guard inventory. But the “donations” forced the Coast Guard to halt acquisition of the simpler, albeit slower and far less military freight-friendly HC-144s, and the Coast Guard struggled to manage the new fleet of mid-range turboprops. While the C-27Js are robust and offer the Coast Guard a lot of capabilities, the aircraft struggled to progress from Air Force custody into a fully missionized Coast Guard patrol platform. Issues with spare parts pricing and part availability, coupled with bitter wrangling over manufacturer data rights and other battles over operational support, have hamstrung the Coast Guard. On the U.S. side, a complex web of bureaucratic relationships and obscure regulations complicate life for the small fleet of tactical airlifters, making engagement with Leonardo a constant challenge. The various battles left the Coast Guard’s C-27J program far behind schedule. Originally, the Coast Guard expected to fly a mission system prototype by fiscal year 2017, and, according to the original schedule, by fiscal year 2022, all 14 C-27s were to be missionized, sporting a full suite of surveillance gear. Instead, the first missionized HC-27J prototype flew in early September 2023, and full missionization of the entire Coast Guard fleet is years away. Overall, Spartan development has been plagued by poor execution. The U.S. GAO reported that, in 2014, the induction of otherwise unused C-27s into the Army was hampered by an array of fuel leaks, landing gear problems, manufacturing defects, structural cracks, valve issues and oxygen supply challenges. Coast Guard C-27J pilots have similar complaints, saying that, while the aircraft is excellent to fly, they are always struggling with one maintenance problem after another. Availability is a problem as well; this is not the first time the global C-27 fleet has been grounded. While the groundings this year have been relatively short and quickly resolved, some can last awhile. In 2012, U.S. Air Force C-27s were grounded for months as the manufacturer investigated a mishap, and then, after attributing the accident to a manufacturing defect, the manufacturer needed ten more months to remake the faulty parts. For the Coast Guard, the prospect of an extended C-27J safety stand-down comes at a terrible time. With the Coast Guard cutter fleet facing serious cuts, the service was likely leaning on their maritime patrol aircraft to help the remaining cutters operate more efficiently and effectively. If much of the globe-spanning C-27J fleet is grounded for a long period, the loss will likely be felt throughout the Pacific. The Coast Guard flies operational C-27J missions into the Pacific from Sacramento, California, and Australia, sporting a large fleet of 10 C-27Js, has, over the past few years, been using the handy-sized aircraft to engage Oceania and help support remote island communities. Australia, like the U.S. Coast Guard, has openly grumbled about the platform’s low reliability rates and spare parts availability. In 2021, in an indication of ongoing sustainment challenges, the Royal Australian Air Force reoriented the platform from combat airlift to a less complex civil support and engagement mission-set. Australia may have downscoped the Spartan’s combat mission, but it has been putting the aircraft to work, flying into remote atolls and grass strips that are too small for the big C-130 Hercules transport. If Australia’s C-27J fleet exhibit similar cracking as the U.S. Coast Guard fleet and are pulled out of service, it will be an enormous blow to Pacific security. This year, the Australian Air Force has repeatedly used their C-27Js to support fisheries monitoring and maritime surveillance. Most recently, Australian crews were busy flying a 10-mission package in support of hard-pressed Pacific fisheries. In August, an Australian aircraft helped respond to volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea, evacuating citizens and flying disaster supplies to remote and hard-hit communities. The transport helped out when record floods hit Australia. And, as summer begins in the Southern hemisphere, Australia is facing what it expects to be the toughest fire season in years, so the aircraft, a critical support tool for Australia’s wildfire responses, must get online as fast as possible. The handy-sized, twin-engine turboprop does work. With Australia pointing the way for the Coast Guard’s C-27J Spartans, offering a potentially interesting adjunct for the growing list of non-submarine-oriented AUKUS collaborations, it is unfortunate the aircraft has suffered such a rocky path into the global arsenal. The platforms—when they work—are loved by their crews and could still mature into a very useful platform in the Pacific and beyond. But, in America, time may be running out for Leonardo. The U.S. Coast Guard, already suffering from a personnel and budget crisis, is in no mood to nurse unstable and poor-performing platforms. It has far better things to do than to fight endless rounds of part price-gouging or engage in fights for necessary technical data. As a Coast Guard spokesperson put it, “the safety of our aviators remains our top priority as we continue to address this very important matter.” It is unclear if Leonardo really understands what might be at stake. A long and unplanned grounding may push the Coast Guard to re-evaluate the future of their troubled C-27J Spartan fleet and, potentially, start eying a single-airframe fleet of C-130Js supported by a few other alternatives. https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2023/12/05/structural-cracks-ground-all-us-coast-guard-c-27j-spartan-patrol-aircraft/?sh=d76a5103cc51 Mexican airline Volaris reaches accord with P&W on GTF motor inspections MEXICO CITY, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Mexican airline Volaris said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement with Pratt & Whitney on compensation for each GTF motor pulled from its fleet for inspections. The carrier said in a filing to Mexico's main stock exchange the motor inspections - required due to a rare powder metal defect discovered in some of the engines - had reduced its capacity in November. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/mexican-airline-volaris-reaches-accord-with-pw-gtf-motor-inspections-2023-12-05/ Frontier Airlines, EEOC reach agreement concerning lactating pilots Frontier Airlines will be one of the first airlines to permit pilots to pump breastmilk in the cockpit under an agreement reached between the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the airline and five Frontier Airlines pilots, the agency said Tuesday. The EEOC, in a statement, described the policy change as a “critical step forward for gender equality in the airline industry.” It said that in addition to permitting breastmilk pumping during noncritical flight phases, the new policy will enable lactating pilots to continue working while maintaining the “highest safety standards.” The statement said the Denver-based low-cost airline also agreed to update and clarify its policies relating to pregnancy and lactation accommodations. This includes clarifying that the airline accommodates pilots unable to fly because of pregnancy or lactation on the same terms it accommodates pilots with other medical conditions that render them unable to fly. Jacalyn Peter, vice president for labor relations at Frontier, said in the EEOC statement, “Thanks in part to advances in wearable lactation technology, the parties were able to reach an amicable resolution of this case that also maintains our commitment to the highest safety standards.” The ACLU and others filed a lawsuit over the issue of pregnancy and lactation in 2019. Aditi Fruitwala, staff attorney for the ACLU’s Center for Liberty, said in a statement that the settlement “should serve as a strong message” to employers, especially airline employers. The EEOC has said it plans to update its strategic enforcement plan to include protecting workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20231205/NEWS06/912361416/Frontier-Airlines,-EEOC-reach-agreement-concerning-lactating-pilots First batch of Hong Kong Cathay Pacific pilots graduates from 75-week integrated training programme Nineteen men, two women completed the carrier’s inaugural programme split between Hong Kong, US and Australia ‘Promotion of the localisation of the aviation workforce is one of our major policy objectives,’ government official says The first batch of 21 Cathay Pacific Airways pilots on Tuesday graduated from a training programme held partly in Hong Kong, with the flag carrier saying its “challenging” aim to train 800 in two years was “on track”. The 19 men and two women completed the airline’s inaugural integrated programme after about 75 weeks of training split between Cathay City’s simulators, Hong Kong Polytechnic University for theory, and flight practice in the United States and Australia. Captain Chris Kempis, director of flight operations of Cathay Pacific, said they introduced the integrated pathway because of the “magnificent facilities and talent training” in Hong Kong. “Why do all of our training outside when we have the expertise at the Hong Kong PolyU?” Kempis said, adding that institutions in the US and Australia continued to be important partners. Running simultaneously with this new programme is the legacy cadet training programme, which is entirely conducted in Adelaide, Australia. Attending the graduation ceremony, acting secretary for transport and logistics Liu Chun-san said this alternative mode of training could help attract new blood to the industry. “Promotion of the localisation of the aviation workforce is one of our major policy objectives,” he said. “Local airlines and education institutions have been playing an indispensable role in this.” He added that Hong Kong was the designated international aviation hub in the national 14th five-year plan and the Greater Bay Area Outline Development Plan. The 21 trainees, who joined Cathay Pacific as second officers in November, are among the 800 cadet pilots the carrier hopes to recruit in 2023 and 2024. The airline has trained about 1,000 cadet pilots since its legacy programme was launched 35 years ago. “It’s definitely a challenge,” Captain Ron Chan, deputy chief pilot (Boeing) at Cathay Pacific’s Flight Operations Department, said when asked whether achieving 80 per cent of what the airline accomplished in the past 3½ decades in two years was realistic. “As the airline expands, we are looking at ways to train our pilots more efficiently. Now we have more technology, and more tools to assist. Of course, there is a lot of work to be done, but it’s definitely achievable.” Chan, who joined the carrier in 1999 after completing the training programme, also said they were “on target” as more than 400 cadet pilots had been recruited this year. There were multiple courses now as opposed to one per year when the cadet programme kicked off in 1988, he added. Hong Kong’s Cathay tackles staff shortages, poor morale as it chases rivals Looking ahead, Chan said he believed the integrated training model would allow more room for future development in local aviation training. He added that the airline hoped to have a larger pool of candidates to choose from given the sudden need to enrol 800 cadet pilots, which was the reason behind the carrier starting to recruit from mainland China for the first time earlier this year. The cadet training programmes are among a slew of measures the carrier has been continuously taking to restore its pre-pandemic passenger capacity. In June, the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association suggested the airline needed 700 captains to reach its goal but Cathay Pacific hit back, saying about 250 crew members who previously left would rejoin. The airline said it was planning to hire another 5,000 employees next year on top of this year’s 4,000, but did not reveal how many of them were pilots and cabin crew members. The Cathay Group on Monday bought back half – HK$9.75 billion (US$1.2 billion) – of the HK$19.5 billion in preference shares that were issued to the government as part of its recapitalisation financing in 2020. The rest will be bought back by the end of next July subject to market conditions and its business operations at the relevant time. The airline has also extended its suspension of flights between Hong Kong and Tel Aviv from December 31 to March 28 next year. Canais Chow, who was named best cadet in the batch, said he had a roundabout journey but persevered with his dream of becoming a pilot. “I participated in the Cathay Dragon cadet pilot training programme [in 2018]. However, it was interrupted due to Covid-19,” said Chow, who became a buyer in the fashion and beauty industry. “I decided to rejoin Cathay Pacific as a cadet because I still believe aviation is where my passion lies.” Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific to shake up roster policy to improve pilots’ pay 21 Sep 2023 Fellow graduate Cathy Chan, who was briefly an aircraft maintenance and robotics engineer before joining the programme, said her interest in aviation began at the age of 14. “I was not only impressed by the work culture in the cockpit, but also the joy and sense of accomplishment one gets when flying passengers safely from one point to another.” All cadet graduates joined the airline last month as second officers. According to the airline, their “target annual salary” is HK$564,000 with allowances, benefits and Mandatory Provident Fund contributions on a normal first year. Eligible employees will also get a discretionary year-end bonus and profit-share payment. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3243968/first-batch-hong-kong-cathay-pacific-pilots-graduates-75-week-integrated-training-programme 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