Flight Safety Information - January 1, 2024 No. 001 In This Issue : Incident: Austrian A320 at Tenerife on Dec 23rd 2023, fumes on board : Incident: Gol B738 at Sao Paulo on Dec 27th 2023, smoke in cabin : Incident: Skywest CRJ7 at San Francisco on Dec 25th 2023, smoke in cabin : Incident: Southwest B737 at Las Vegas on Dec 27th 2023, flight control anomaly : Cessna 560XL Citation XLS - Runway Excursion/Failed Landing Gear (Turkey) : Air safety 2023: Accidents and fatalities at record low : Air India Pilot Unions Raise Alarm Over Alleged Intimidation and Flight Safety : Facial recognition could replace passports at UK airport e-gates : Delta to Slow Down Pilot Hiring in 2024 : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: Austrian A320 at Tenerife on Dec 23rd 2023, fumes on board An Austrian Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration OE-LBK performing flight OS-9506 from Tenerife South,CI (Spain) to Vienna (Austria), had been dispatched under minimum equipment list requirements with the #2 bleed air system de-activated due to fumes. The aircraft departed Tenerife and was about 30 minutes into the flight when again fumes (smell of old socks) occurred throughout the aircraft. The aircraft continued to Vienna for a landing without further incident about 4:15 hours after departure. According to information The Aviation Herald received the aircraft was preparing for departure, passengers were already boarding, when the crew activated the APU and about 3 minutes later turned the APU Bleed air on. The odour of old socks occurred prompting the crew to shut the #2 bleed air off, the smell disappeared. Maintenance released the aircraft under minimum equipment list requirements with the #2 bleed air system de-activated. https://avherald.com/h?article=5130f525&opt=0 Incident: Gol B738 at Sao Paulo on Dec 27th 2023, smoke in cabin A Gol Transportes Aereos Boeing 737-800, registration PR-GGL performing flight G3-1504 from Sao Paulo Guarulhos,SP to Aracaju,SE (Brazil), was enroute at FL340 about 150nm northeast of Sao Paulo when the crew decided to turn around and return to Guarulhos reporting they had first noticed a burning odour followed by smoke in the cabin. The aircraft landed safely back on Guarulhos' runway 09R about 55 minutes after departure. Brazil's CENIPA reported the crew carried out the procedures provided for in the manual and decided to return to Sao Paulo for a landing without further incident. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration PR-GGP reached Aracaju with a delay of about 4:15 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for about 17 hours before returning to service. https://avherald.com/h?article=513058d4&opt=0 Incident: Skywest CRJ7 at San Francisco on Dec 25th 2023, smoke in cabin A Skywest Canadair CRJ-700 on behalf of United, registration N793SK performing flight UA-5506 from San Francisco,CA to Aspen,CO (USA) with 62 people on board, was climbing out of San Francisco's runway 01R when the crew reported they had thin hazy smoke in the cabin, stopped the climb at 5000 feet and returned to San Francisco for a safe landing on runway 28R about 11 minutes after departure. A replacement Canadair CRJ-700 registration N794SK reached Aspen with a delay of about 5:20 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for about 54 hours before returning to service. https://avherald.com/h?article=5130519c&opt=0 Incident: Southwest B737 at Las Vegas on Dec 27th 2023, flight control anomaly A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration N7851A performing flight WN-464 from Las Vegas,NV to Portland,OR (USA), was climbing out of Las Vegas' runway 26R when the crew requested to level off at 15,000 feet reporting they had some flight control anomaly, later advising they needed to work some rudder checklist before returning to Las Vegas. The aircraft landed safely on Las Vegas' runway 26L about 45 minutes after departure. A replacement Boeing 737-700 registration N462WN reached Portland with a delay of about 2:10 hours. A passenger reported the crew told them about autopilot and control problems. Emergency services followed the aircraft to the gate. A replacement aircraft took them to Portland, the airline proactively sent an e-mail apologizing for the inconvenience and offering a voucher for future flights. https://avherald.com/h?article=513034cb&opt=0 Cessna 560XL Citation XLS - Runway Excursion/Failed Landing Gear (Turkey) Date: Saturday 30 December 2023 Time: c. 07:30 UTC Type: Cessna 560XL Citation XLS Owner/operator: Kalyon Güven Aviation Registration: TC-LLL MSN: 560-5722 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 Aircraft damage: Substantial Location: Diyarbakir Airport (DIY/LTCC) - Turkey Phase: Landing Nature: Private Departure airport: Istanbul-Atatürk Airport (ISL/LTBA) Destination airport: Diyarbakir Airport (DIY/LTCC) Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources Narrative: The Cessna 560XL Citation XLS veered off the side of the runway during landing at Diyarbakir Airport (DIY). The left-hand main gear leg broke off. Visibility was poor due to fog. https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/349471 Air safety 2023: Accidents and fatalities at record low • No scheduled passenger jets were involved in fatal crashes in 2023 Commercial aviation was safer in 2023 than in any previous year. According to a leading air safety expert, last year set a new record for the fewest accidents and deaths. Only two fatal accidents occurred during the 12 months, compared with six in 2022. In both crashes, propeller aircraft came down on domestic flights, with a total of 86 deaths – fewer than half the 178 fatalities in 2023. For comparison, 148 people die in the average hour on the world’s roads according to the latest UN figures. No fatal aircraft accidents involved international flights or passenger jets. In a civil aviation safety review for the Dutch air-safety organisation To70, senior aviation consultant Adrian Young writes: “Both the number of accidents and fatalities are at a record low.” The fatal accident rate was less than one in 15 million flights – three times better than the 10-year average. The first and deadliest crash was in Nepal on 15 January 2023. An ATR-72 belonging to Yeti Airlines took off and flew normally from Kathmandu to Pokhara, but plunged into a gorge one mile short of the runway. The subsequent investigation found that high workload and stress on the flight deck was responsible. Mr Young says the accident report revealed the pilots’ actions resulted in “the feathering of both propellers and subsequent loss of thrust, leading to an aerodynamic stall”. The second fatal accident was in Brazil on 16 September 2023, when an Embraer 110 belonging to Manaus Airlines crashed on a flight from the Amazonian city to Barcelos during bad weather. All 14 passengers and crew died. The safety of jet aircraft repeats the unlikely success of 2017, according to Mr Young. “As the new year dawns and we look back across 2023, civil aviation finds itself in a similar position to 2017 with no fatal accidents to large turbofan powered, passenger aeroplanes in commercial service,” he writes. This category encompasses everything from commuter jets of the type used at London City airport to the Airbus A380 “SuperJumbo”. The notorious crash of a private jet carrying the boss of Russia’s Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is excluded. The plane crashed with the loss of all 10 on board on 23 August 2023 during a flight from Moscow to St Petersburg. Reports claim an ally of Vladimir Putin was responsible for placing a bomb on the Embraer 135 aircraft. International law requires countries to involve the nation where the plane was made, in this case Brazil. But Russia refused to involve the Brazilian authorities or the aircraft manufacturer in the investigation. Mr Young describes this as “an unwelcome step that goes against the collaborative nature of accident investigation and does not help with the main reason to investigate accidents; the learning of lessons”. The safety expert warns of “a number of incidents and non-fatal accidents that require the industry to remain vigilant”. He writes: “Regardless of how low the accident rate in 2023 has been, there is no cause for complacency. “Aviation remains a risk-laden industry and as airports around the world report that movements are reaching the same level as in 2019, before the Covid 19 crisis, a number of issues have not gone away. “Serious injuries due to turbulence remain an ever-present factor in the year’s accidents.” Eleven passengers aboard a charter flight from Barbados to Manchester were hurt when their Airbus A330 encountered clear air turbulence over the Atlantic. The plane diverted to Bermuda on Christmas Eve. This year will see the 10th anniversary of the two tragedies involving Boeing 777 aircraft belonging to Malaysia Airlines. On 8 March 2014, flight MH370 disappeared while on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The jet is presumed to have come down in the Indian Ocean west of Australia. No trace has been found of the 227 passengers and 12 crew. On 17 July 2014, flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was downed by a Russian missile fired from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine. All 298 passengers and crew perished. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/air-safety-accidents-record-low-2023-b2471757.html Air India Pilot Unions Raise Alarm Over Alleged Intimidation and Flight Safety Air India pilot unions, the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) and the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), have voiced concerns over the airline’s management allegedly intimidating cockpit staff with punitive measures if they report sick. This revelation comes amidst an unsettled period for the airline, with delays in salary payments, uncertainty about the company’s future, and hazardous conditions at specific airports already posing significant challenges. Reported Intimidation and Flight Safety Concerns In a letter addressed to Manish Uppal, senior vice president for flight operations at Air India, the unions underscored the necessity for pilots to freely report illnesses without fear of retaliation. This freedom, they argued, is crucial for flight safety, given the physical and mental demands of the profession. The IPG represents pilots of wide-body aircraft, while the ICPA speaks on behalf of those flying the narrow-body Airbus 320 family aircraft. Unethical Practices and Legal Consequences The letter, also delivered to influential figures like Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and DGCA Vikram Dev Dutt, argued that threatening pilots for reporting sickness is not only unethical but also contravenes the Aircraft Rules Act, 1937. The unions highlighted that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) prioritizes safety and that the wellbeing of pilots is paramount. They warned that pilots might feel pressured to fly even when unwell, endangering flight safety consequently. A Call for a Health-Conscious Work Environment The unions have called for a work environment that acknowledges pilots’ health as a significant factor influencing flight safety. This request comes in light of existing concerns about the delayed payment of salaries, the airline’s future, and hazardous conditions at some airports, including bird hits, short runways, and tall trees. A recent incident involving a Delhi-bound aircraft catching fire shortly after takeoff has only intensified these concerns. The unions’ plea for a healthier work environment, therefore, is not only about respect for pilots’ rights but also about ensuring the safety and reliability of the airline’s operations. https://bnnbreaking.com/breaking-news/health/air-india-pilot-unions-raise-alarm-over-alleged-intimidation-and-flight-safety-2/ Facial recognition could replace passports at UK airport e-gates Border Force director reportedly hopes to create ‘intelligent border’ after being impressed by schemes in Australia and Dubai It has happened to the best of us. The last-minute racking of brains on arrival in the UK to try to remember where the passports were packed, followed by the panicked fumbling all the way to the bottom of every compartment of every bag. That may all be in the past though, should plans reportedly proposed by the government’s borders agency go ahead, with the need to present the document on arrival in the UK being replaced by facial recognition technology. Phil Douglas, the director general of Border Force, said he had been “really impressed” by e-gate schemes in Australia and Dubai. “I had to apply for an electronic travel authorisation in advance and used my smartphone to read the chip in my passport. That sent the image of me in the chip to the Australian authorities. When I arrived in Australia, I didn’t even have to get my passport out of my bag. It is a really interesting concept,” he told the Times. The paper reported that he said he wanted to create an “intelligent border” that used “much more frictionless facial recognition than we currently do”. According to the Times, trials are expected to begin at airports this year, with a procurement process for the hardware needed to introduce the system across the country due to follow if it succeeds. Douglas has been touting the potential benefits of biometrics and data security in managing the UK’s borders in recent months. In February 2023, he suggested the paper passport was becoming largely redundant – even as some celebrated the post-Brexit return of the blue document. He told an audience at the Airport Operators Association conference in London at the time: “I’d like to see a world of completely frictionless borders where you don’t really need a passport. The technology already exists to support that.” Douglas added: “In the future, you won’t need a passport – you’ll just need biometrics.” The Times reported that biometric details of British and Irish travellers were already held after being obtained in the passport application process. Speaking to the paper, Douglas said: “We will know a lot more information about people upfront. We will know if they’ve been in the UK before. We’ll know what their compliance with immigration laws is. And we’ll know if there’s any records of them on our security systems. So there will be some people who won’t be getting on the plane.” According to polling carried out by the International Air Transport Association in 2022, 75% of passengers worldwide would be happy to ditch passports for biometrics. Speaking last year, Douglas acknowledged some may not be keen to see people “waltzing through the border with no passport”. He said: “The technology exists – but the public and ministers will be quite attached to having them checked for some time.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/01/facial-recognition-could-replace-passports-at-uk-airport-e-gates Delta to Slow Down Pilot Hiring in 2024 Delta’s pilot hiring plans for 2024 show that the airline industry’s post-pandemic hiring surge may be coming to an end. Delta Air Lines said it plans to hire far fewer pilots in 2024 than in recent years, signaling a potential end to the airline industry’s post-pandemic hiring surge. Delta said it will hire a little over 1,000 pilots in 2024, roughly half the amount it hired in 2023. Since the pandemic, airlines have hired tens of thousands of pilots to keep up with high travel demand and make up for an ongoing pilot shortage. In 2022, the industry hired roughly 13,000 pilots and was on track to hire roughly the same number in 2023, according to FAPA.aero, a pilot hiring advisory service. “Delta’s 2024 hiring projections are representative of a continued healthy and robust demand for pilots,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement. “What we anticipate for the coming year is a very strong, yet more normalized, growth pattern that is reflective of Delta’s full operational restoration post-pandemic and continued focus on industry leadership.” Delta also said that a major airline hiring over 1,000 pilots was still a high number and that hiring patterns in the industry had been unusual since the pandemic. The carrier noted that such hiring couldn’t continue indefinitely. Pilot Shortage Airlines had been hiring pilots in droves to deal with a severe pilot shortage. Smaller cities that depend on regional airlines have been hit the hardest by the shortage as the larger airlines have snatched up pilots, offering higher pay and better career opportunities. Pilots have been able to score record contracts, with some receiving raises as high as 50%. Combined with significant pay increases and increased recruitment efforts, it appears as if the airline industry is now past the worst of the pilot shortage. “Thanks to rising salaries, faster career paths, and greater awareness of the need for pilots, the number of candidates pursuing certification to fly commercially is rising,” according to an Oliver Wyman report. While other large U.S. airlines have yet to release their hiring figures for 2024, there are signs that airlines are slowing down hiring. Spirit Airlines, for example, decided to halt its new pilot and flight attendant training because it is planning for slower growth amid softening demand for domestic travel. https://skift.com/2023/12/30/delta-slows-down-pilot-hiring-for-2024/ CALENDAR OF EVENTS • SINGAPORE AIRSHOW 2024 - February 20 - 25 • HAI Heli-Expo 2024 - February 26 - 29 - Anaheim, CA • 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