Flight Safety Information - January 9, 2024 No. 007 In This Issue : Boeing 737-86N (WL) - Runway Excursion (Russia) : Airbus A320-232 - Hydraulic Failure (Russia) : Alaska Airlines' decision not to ground Boeing jet despite warning signs comes under scrutiny : Canada, partners take Iran to UN council over downed Ukrainian jet : Loss of Alaska cockpit recording rekindles industry safety debate : Japan issues improved emergency measures following fatal plane collision at Haneda airport : United Airlines is considering relocating its headquarters to Denver : Taiwan's EVA Air finalises up to $10.1 bln order for 33 Airbus planes : Cathay Pacific union calls for government inquiry into pilot shortage : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Boeing 737-86N (WL) - Runway Excursion (Russia) Date: Tuesday 9 January 2024 Time: c. 02:35 UTC Type: Boeing 737-86N (WL) Owner/operator: NordStar Airlines Registration: RA-73253 MSN: 36813/2976 Year of manufacture: 2009 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 177 Aircraft damage: None Location: Noril'sk Airport (NSK/UOOO) - Russia Phase: Landing Nature: Passenger - Scheduled Departure airport: Krasnoyarsk-Yemelyanovo International Airport (KJA/UNKL) Destination airport: Noril'sk Airport (NSK/UOOO) Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources Narrative: NordStar flight Y7207, a Boeing 737-800, suffered a runway excursion while landing on runway 19 at Norilsk Airport. https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/349739 Airbus A320-232 - Hydraulic Failure (Russia) Date: Tuesday 9 January 2024 Time: Type: Airbus A320-232 Owner/operator: Yamal Airlines Registration: RA-73694 MSN: 1969 Year of manufacture: 2003 Engine model: IAE V2527-A5 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Aircraft damage: Unknown Location: near town Talinka - Russia Phase: En route Nature: Passenger - Scheduled Departure airport: Tyumen-Roschino International Airport (TJM/USTR) Destination airport: Salekhard Airport (SLY/USDD) Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources Narrative: January 09, 2024, 02.42 (UTC), 05.42 (Moscow time) The aircraft crew reported problems with the hydraulic system and decided to return to the departure airfield Tyumen (Roschino). Aircraft A320, RA--73694, flight LLM10 "Tyumen (Roschino)-Salekhard". Operator: Yamal Airlines. https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/349747 Alaska Airlines' decision not to ground Boeing jet despite warning signs comes under scrutiny Friday’s flight was headed from Oregon to Southern California, and made it back to Portland without serious injury to any of the 171 passengers and six crew members An Alaska Airlines flight from Oregon to Southern California made an emergency landing Friday after a piece of the side of the plane detached mid-air. The decision by Alaska Airlines to stop flying one of its planes over the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii due to warnings from a cabin-pressurization system — yet keep flying it over land — is raising questions about whether the jet should have been in the air at all. The nation’s top accident investigator says warning lights were triggered on three flights, including each of the two days before the brand-new Boeing 737 Max 9 suffered a terrifying fuselage blowout Friday night. A plug covering a spot left for an emergency door tore off the plane as it flew 16,000 feet above Oregon. Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said maintenance crews checked the plane and cleared it to fly — but the airline decided not to use it for the long route to Hawaii over water so that it “could return very quickly to an airport” if the warning light reappeared. Friday’s flight was headed from Oregon to Southern California, and made it back to Portland without serious injury to any of the 171 passengers and six crew members. But the decision to allow it to fly over land in the first place struck some aviation experts as illogical. “If you are afraid to take the airplane far from land, what is the reason for that? That has to be answered by Alaska Airlines,” said Steven Wallace, an air-safety consultant and commercial pilot who once headed accident investigations for the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA grounded all Max 9s operated by Alaska and United and some flown by foreign airlines for inspection after the Friday night flight. The inspections are focused on plugs used to seal an area set aside for extra emergency doors that are not required on United and Alaska Max 9s. Monday afternoon, United Airlines said it found loose bolts and other “installation issues” on door plugs that were inspected after the Alaska Airlines incident. “Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” Chicago-based United said. Boeing, which has had its own share of problems with various planes over the years, pledged to “help address any and all findings” that airlines make during their inspections. The FAA declined to comment on whether the Alaska Airlines plane in question should have been allowed to keep flying. The agency said “it would be premature” to comment while the NTSB is investigating the Friday night flight. Seattle-based Alaska Airlines also declined to comment, saying it would need permission from the NTSB to discuss the plane and its maintenance history. “We will provide information as soon as the NTSB permits us to do so,” the airline said. Alan Diehl, a former crash investigator for both the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration, said Alaska should have grounded the plane, period. However, he and other critics said the decision to stop flying the plane to Hawaii might have averted a disaster. If the blowout had happened halfway to Hawaii, pilots would have been forced to fly low enough so passengers could breathe without oxygen masks, which burns more fuel. And the gaping hole in the fuselage would create drag. The plane might have run out of fuel before reaching land, experts said. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s an angel in Alaska,” Diehl said. “Whoever made the decision to do that probably saved a lot of lives.” Other aviation insiders saw nothing unusual in the airline’s decision to limit but not ground the plane after the pressurization warnings on flights Dec. 7, Jan 3 and Jan. 4 – the day before the blowout. “Whatever maintenance they performed on it, (they decided) ’Let’s be conservative and not put this thing out over water,” said John Cox, a former airline pilot and now a safety consultant. He said the intermittent nature of the pressurization warnings – three out of the plane’s 145 flights – might have made them suspect a bad sensor or something else. It’s not clear whether the airline would have been required to report the warning lights to the FAA or the fact that it had limited the plane to flying over land. Wallace said rules about such reporting aren’t specific. Homendy, the NTSB chair, cautioned that the pressurization warning light might be unrelated to Friday’s incident, which occurred as the plane cruised about three miles (4.8 kilometers) over Oregon. On Monday, the FAA approved guidelines for inspecting the door plugs on other Max 9 jets and repairing them, if necessary. That move could speed the return to service of the 171 planes that the FAA grounded. Alaska has 64 other Max 9s, and United Airlines owns 79 of them. No other U.S. airlines operate that model. The NTSB said the lost door plug was found Sunday near Portland in the back yard of a home. At a news conference Sunday night, Homendy said an explosive rush of air damaged several rows of seats and pulled insulation from the walls. The cockpit door flew open and banged into a lavatory door. Two cell phones that appeared to have belonged to passengers on Friday’s flight were found on the ground. One was discovered in a yard, the other on the side of a road. Both were turned over to the NTSB. Grounding 171 of 218 Max 9s in operation, including all those used by Alaska and United, led to flight cancellations at both carriers. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun called a companywide webcast to talk about the incident with employees and senior leadership for Tuesday. Alaska Airlines flight 1282 took off from Portland at 5:07 p.m. Friday for a two-hour trip to Ontario, California. About six minutes later, the chunk of fuselage blew out. Videos posted online by passengers showed a gaping hole where the paneled-over door had been. They applauded when the plane landed safely about 13 minutes after the blowout. Firefighters came down the aisle, asking passengers to remain in their seats as they treated the injured. It was extremely lucky that the airplane had not yet reached cruising altitude, when passengers and flight attendants might be walking around the cabin, Homendy said. The Max is the newest version of Boeing’s venerable 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle plane frequently used on U.S. domestic flights. The model went into service in May 2017. Two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. All Max 8 and Max 9 planes were grounded worldwide for nearly two years until Boeing made changes to an automated flight control system implicated in the crashes. The Max has been plagued by other issues, including manufacturing flaws. https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/national-international/alaska-airlines-decision-not-to-ground-boeing-jet-despite-warning-signs-comes-under-scrutiny/3200845/ Canada, partners take Iran to UN council over downed Ukrainian jet OTTAWA, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine on Monday formally complained to the U.N. aviation council in their bid to hold Iran accountable for the downing of a passenger airliner in January 2020 that killed 176 people, they said on Monday. Most of the dead were citizens from the four nations, which created a coordination group that seeks to hold Iran to account. "Today we have jointly initiated dispute-settlement proceedings before the International Civil Aviation Organization against the Islamic Republic of Iran for using weapons against a civil aircraft in flight," they said in a statement. Last June the four nations said they would take their case to the International Court of Justice. Iran says its Revolutionary Guards accidentally shot down the Boeing 737 jet and blamed a misaligned radar and an error by the air defense operator at a time when tensions were high between Tehran and Washington. https://www.reuters.com/world/canada-partners-take-iran-un-council-over-downed-ukrainian-jet-2024-01-08/ Loss of Alaska cockpit recording rekindles industry safety debate WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The cockpit voice recorder data on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet which lost a panel mid-flight on Friday was overwritten, U.S. authorities said, renewing attention on long-standing safety calls for longer in-flight recordings. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy said on Sunday no data was available on the cockpit voice recorder because it was not retrieved within two hours - when recording restarts, erasing previous data. The U.S. requires cockpit voice recorders to log two hours of data versus 25 hours in Europe for planes made after 2021. The industry has been wrestling with the length of cockpit recordings since the disappearance of a Malaysian jet in 2014. Although the Boeing 777 has never been found, the loss of MH370 sharply increased efforts to monitor the longest possible modern flights and where necessary recap earlier flights. In 2016, members of the United Nations' aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), recommended a 25-hour recording on planes manufactured from 2021, in line with the period of time already used for keeping flight data. "There was a lot going on, on the flight deck and on the plane. It's a very chaotic event. The circuit breaker for the CVR (cockpit voice recorder) was not pulled. The maintenance team went out to get it, but it was right at about the two-hour mark," Homendy said. The plane's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were sent to NTSB labs on Sunday to be read but no voice data was available, she said. DEBATE WITH FAA The NTSB has been vocal in calling for the U.S. to extend its rule to 25 hours. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a month ago said it was proposing to extend to 25 hours – but only for new aircraft in line with the European policy. "I'm calling on the FAA to change the rulemaking," Homendy said, adding that she wanted to see aircraft retrofitted with 25-hour recorders, not just new planes. "If that communication is not recorded, that is unfortunately a loss for us and a loss for the FAA and a loss for safety because that information is key not just for our investigation but for improving aviation safety," she said. Congress should take action in the FAA reauthorization bill to ensure the proposed rule is adopted, Homendy said. The two agencies have sparred in the past over the way in which the NTSB's recommendations are implemented. Debate about whether to adopt the longer recording time juggles considerations of cost or privacy against safety. The U.S. FAA has previously rejected the NTSB's call for retrofitting aircraft with new cockpit voice recorders, saying the costs would be significant at $741 million versus $196 million under incremental upgrades it proposed. Several pilot groups oppose longer recordings. "(It) would significantly infringe upon the privacy rights of pilots and other flight crew members, as well as drastically increase the likelihood that CVR recordings will be misused or disseminated without authorization," the union representing pilots for Atlas Air told the FAA last month. The issue has taken on new urgency after a series of near miss incidents raised alarms about U.S. air safety. The NTSB has conducted 10 investigations since 2018 where the CVR was overwritten, including four runway incursions, Homendy said. The comments came as Japanese media reported that the voice recorder from a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 that collided with a Japanese Coastguard plane last week had been recovered. Some agencies have additionally called for video cockpit recordings, which most pilot groups oppose even more strongly because they could be used in courtrooms or unfairly leaked. France's BEA called for cockpit cameras to analyse what pilots are able to see following the mid-Atlantic crash of an Air France jet in 2009. Fifteen years on, litigation continues with appeals due to be heard in the second half next year. Historians attribute the invention of flight recorders to Australian scientist David Warren in the 1950s. They are mandatory and the aim is to preserve clues from sounds and data to help prevent future accidents. The industry has already phased out older technology like wire, foil or reels of magnetic tape though the BEA keeps old equipment to ensure it can read data from old planes. Although today's recorders use computer chips inside "crash-survivable" containers able to withstand g-forces 3,400 times the feeling of gravity, critics say the capacity for recordings housed inside them remains less than an ordinary cellphone. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/alaska-737-cockpit-voice-recorder-data-erasure-renews-industry-safety-debate-2024-01-08/ Japan issues improved emergency measures following fatal plane collision at Haneda airport • The measures – include more visible stop line markings on taxiways leading to runways and use of clearer language in traffic control communication • The rules will take effect immediately and come after a passenger jet and a coastguard aircraft collided on the same runway on January 2, killing five people Japan’s transport ministry said on Tuesday it has introduced improved emergency measures for the country’s airports, a week after a fatal collision between a Japan Airlines jetliner and a coastguard plane at Tokyo’s busy Haneda airport that is seen as a result of human error. The measures – including more visible stop line markings on taxiways leading to runways and use of clearer language in traffic control communication – are to be implemented right away at Haneda while they are slated to go into effect at other airports across the country in the coming weeks. The January 2 collision occurred when JAL Flight 516 carrying 379 passengers and crew landed right behind the coastguard aircraft preparing to take off on the same seaside runway, engulfing both aircraft in flames. The burnt Japan Airlines plane after a collision with a coastguard aircraft at Haneda airport in Tokyo. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters All occupants of the JAL’s Airbus A350-900 airliner safely evacuated in 18 minutes. The captain of the coastguard’s much smaller Bombardier Dash-8 escaped with burns, but his five crew members died. The probe into the collision has focused on what caused the coastguard flight crew to believe they had a go-ahead for their take off. A partial release of the air traffic control transcript showed no clear take-off approval was given to the coastguard plane. According to the text, the Tokyo air control gave the JAL plane permission to land on the 34R runway, noting that there is a departing plane, with the JAL pilot repeating the instruction. In the transcript, the traffic control tells the coastguard plane that it was given a “No. 1” priority for take-off, an expression some experts say might have led the Bombardier crew to mistakenly believe they got a permission to proceed to the runway. According to a report Tuesday in the Asahi newspaper, the coastguard plane may have started communication with the traffic control only after the JAL plane got its landing permission and may not have been aware of the airliner’s arrival. The ministry’s new emergency measures call for making sure pilots understand the terminology specifically related to runway entry, urging them to repeat the instructions given by the traffic controls, and ask if they are uncertain. They also instruct traffic control not use numerical terms such as No. 1 suggesting take-off and landing priorities to avoid confusion. The Haneda traffic control tower has created a new position specifically assigned to monitor a radar system that indicates any unauthorised runway entry, beginning next Saturday. The Haneda airport is the world’s third busiest, and preferred of the two in the Tokyo region because of better accessibility to the city’s downtown. During its peak time, flights come and leave every few minutes, a frequency comparable to Tokyo’s commuter trains. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3247834/japan-issues-improved-emergency-measures-following-fatal-plane-collision-haneda-airport?campaign=3247834&module=perpetual_scroll_0&pgtype=article United Airlines is considering relocating its headquarters to Denver United Airlines is actively pursuing the possibility of relocating its corporate headquarters from Chicago to Denver. Although the move is not yet finalized and is expected to take several years, the airline has already acquired land and recently submitted planning documents to the authorities in Denver. According to The Denver Post, United Airlines has submitted plans to the City of Denver outlining potential developments for the 113-acre land recently acquired near the city’s airport. While United has confirmed its intention to expand its flight simulator and pilot training facility on the site, the recent filing suggests additional purposes for the land. The new filing also states, “United is actively investigating programmatic needs to support corporate campus activity accommodating 5,000 employees in future phases of the project.” United is currently headquartered in Chicago’s Willis Tower where the company employs nearly 5,000 corporate workers. United entered the Willis Tower back in 2007 after a move from its previous longtime home near Elk Grove Village. Chicago and Denver are the airline’s two busiest hubs. As of December 2023, United is Denver International Airport’s largest carrier with almost 1000 flights landing and taking off every day. https://kygo.com/united-airlines-is-considering-relocating-its-headquarters-to-denver/ Taiwan's EVA Air finalises up to $10.1 bln order for 33 Airbus planes PARIS, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Eva Airways Corp (2618.TW) has finalised an order for 33 Airbus (AIR.PA) aircraft, the French plane maker said on Tuesday, with the airline previously indicating the deal was worth up to $10.1 billion. The deal, originally announced in November last year, included 18 long-range A350-1000s and 15 single-aisle A321neo. The planemaker did not disclose the value of the deal on Tuesday. In the airline's November filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange it had said the total value would not exceed $10.1 billion, with each A350-1000 costing up to $436 million and each A321neo up to $150 million. "In both size categories we have selected the most modern and fuel efficient types...The aircraft also bring significant reductions in carbon emissions, which is in line with our company's sustainability goals," Clay Sun, President of EVA Air, said in a statement. According to industry sources, Airbus is set to break aerospace order records in 2023, while airplane deliveries should number in the mid-730s, beating the company's target of 720. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/taiwans-eva-air-finalises-up-101-bln-order-33-airbus-planes-2024-01-09/ Cathay Pacific union calls for government inquiry into pilot shortage Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. pilot’s union has called for a government inquiry into the Hong Kong carrier’s handling of mass flight cancellations, laying the blame for the current woes at steep job cuts made during the height of the pandemic. “Any such review must examine the root of Cathay’s problems, which lie in the decisions made by management in 2020,” Paul Weatherilt, the chairman of the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association said in a statement Tuesday. “Hong Kong aviation will continue to suffer until there is an acknowledgment of these mistakes and a change in leadership, particularly among those responsible for overseeing flight operations.” The union’s calls comes after Hong Kong Transport Secretary Lam Sai-hung expressed great concern at Cathay’s senior executives over the flight cancellations in a Facebook post Monday. The airline didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Cathay said Sunday it was scrubbing around 12 flights a day through to the end of February to avoid disruptions in the peak Lunar New Year travel period. The carrier has said a large part of the flight cuts stem from pilots hitting flying limits of 900 hours across a rolling 12-month period, Bloomberg News reported earlier. The airline’s chronic shortage of pilots, at captain and first officer rank, comes after it eliminated thousands of jobs at the height of Covid and cut salaries of remaining workers by as much as 50%. Pilots on staff now stand at 2,532, according to data from the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, down 35% from the end of 2019. Scrubbing flights in the short term gives back pilots more hours to fly under the rolling cap, giving Cathay flexibility to deploy crews for its increased flight schedule during Lunar New Year, which runs from Feb. 10-17. https://www.ajot.com/news/cathay-pacific-union-calls-for-government-inquiry-into-pilot-shortage 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 • Airborne Public Safety Association, Inc. (APSCON 2024) - July 29 - August 3; Houston TX • 2024 ISASI - Lisbon, Portugal - September 30 to October 4, 2024 • 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition - Oct. 22-24 (Vegas) Curt Lewis