Flight Safety Information - January 12, 2024 No. 010 In This Issue : Incident: Xfly CRJ9 at Stockholm on Jan 10th 2024, smell of smoke : Incident: Canada B789 at London on Jan 8th 2024, tyre damage on departure : US investigating if Boeing made sure a part that blew off a jet was made to design standards : Siberian airlines seek to keep flying 50-year-old jets amid Russian plane shortage : British Airways pilot kidnapped by thieves who emptied his bank account in South Africa : Airplane crashes at Livingston airport, 2 passengers injured Thursday : TSA finds a record number of guns at airport checkpoints – 93% of them loaded : Alaska Airlines Announces Compensation For Passengers Who Experienced Plane Door Incident : Personal Aircraft Requiring No Certificate to Fly Hits U.S. Market : Airbus lands record orders in 2023, beats Boeing on deliveries : Aviation Certification: FAA Should Evaluate Effectiveness of the International Validation Process : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: Xfly CRJ9 at Stockholm on Jan 10th 2024, smell of smoke An Xfly Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of SAS Scandinavian Airlines, registration ES-ACN performing flight SK-716 from Stockholm (Sweden) to Helsinki (Finland) with 32 people on board, was climbing out of Stockholm's runway 01L when the crew stopped the climb at about 7000 feet and decided to return to Stockholm for a safe landing on runway 01R about 10 minutes after departure. The airline reported the aircraft returned to Stockholm due to the smell of smoke in the cabin. There was nothing burning however. A replacement aircraft took the passengers to Helsinki. A replacement CRJ-900 registration ES-ACC reached Helsinki with a delay of about 3 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=5138c9e5&opt=0 Incident: Canada B789 at London on Jan 8th 2024, tyre damage on departure An Air Canada Boeing 787-9, registration C-FGDZ performing flight AC-856 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Mumbai (India), was climbing out of London Heathrow's runway 09R when the crew stopped the climb at FL180 and decided to return to Heathrow. The aircraft entered a hold and landed safely back on Heathrow's runway 09L about 90 minutes after departure. The airline reported the aircraft returned as a precaution after it was discovered two tyres were flat. The tyres were replaced and the aircraft returned to service. The remainder of the flight was cancelled as was the return leg AC-855 Mumbai to London the following day. The aircraft remained on the ground in London for about 24 hours, then returned to service. https://avherald.com/h?article=5138bc9e&opt=0 US investigating if Boeing made sure a part that blew off a jet was made to design standards The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether Boeing failed to make sure a panel that blew off a jetliner in midflight last week was safe and manufactured to meet the design that regulators approved. Boeing said Thursday it would cooperate with the investigation, which is focusing on plugs used to fill spots for extra doors when those exits are not required for safety reasons on Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners. One of two plugs on an Alaska Airlines jetliner blew out shortly after the plane took off from Portland, Oregon, leaving a hole in the plane. “This incident should have never happened,and it cannot happen again,” the FAA said. “Boeing’s manufacturing practices need to comply with the high safety standards they’re legally accountable to meet.” Investigation into why a panel blew off a Boeing Max 9 jet focuses on missing bolts The FAA notified Boeing of the investigation in a letter dated Wednesday. “After the incident, the FAA was notified of additional discrepancies on other Boeing 737-9 airplanes,” an FAA official wrote. Alaska and United Airlines reported finding loose bolts on door plugs that they inspected in some of their other Max 9 jets. The FAA asked Boeing to respond within 10 business days and tell the agency “the root cause” of the problem with the door plug and steps the company is taking to prevent a recurrence. “We will cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) on their investigations,” said Boeing, which is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Earlier this week, Boeing CEO David Calhoun called the incident “a quality escape.” He told employees that the company was “acknowledging our mistake ... and that this event can never happen again.” The door plugs are installed by Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, but investigators have not said which company’s employees last worked on the plug on the Alaska plane that suffered the blowout. The day after the blowout, the FAA grounded Max 9 jets, including all 65 operated by Alaska and 79 used by United Airlines, until Boeing develops inspection guidelines and planes can be examined. Alaska canceled all flights by Max 9s through Saturday. NTSB investigators said this week they have not been able to find four bolts that are used to help secure the 63-pound door plug. They are not sure whether the bolts were there before the plane took off. Despite a hole in the side of the plane, pilots were able to return to Portland and make an emergency landing. No serious injuries were reported. A physics teacher in Cedar Hills, Oregon, found the missing door plug in his backyard two days later. It will be examined in the NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C. On Friday, a Seattle law firm filed a class-action lawsuit against Boeing, saying passengers on the Alaska flight suffered physical and psychological injury and emotional distress. It seeks unspecified damages for the treatment of health conditions, travel expenses and the loss of personal items. Boeing declined to comment on the lawsuit. The FAA’s move to investigate Boeing comes as the agency is again under scrutiny for its oversight of the aircraft maker. Members of Congress have in the past accused the FAA of being too cozy with Boeing. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., chair of the Senate committee that oversees FAA, asked the agency to detail its oversight of the company. “Recent accidents and incidents — including the expelled door plug on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 — call into question Boeing’s quality control,” Cantwell said in a letter to FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker. “In short, it appears that FAA’s oversight processes have not been effective in ensuring that Boeing produces airplanes that are in condition for safe operation, as required by law and by FAA regulations.” The incident on the Alaska plane is the latest in a string of setbacks for Boeing that began in 2018, with the first of two crashes of Max 8 planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia — and more than four months apart — that killed a total of 346 people. Justin Green, a lawyer who represents families suing Boeing for the Ethiopia crash, said he was happy to see the FAA ground the Max 9s so quickly after the Oregon incident. “I would like to think it is because the FAA learned something after its failure to ground the Boeing 737-8 Max” after the first crash, Green said, “but you also need to consider that Alaska Air occurred in the U.S. with a plane full of U.S. citizens and garnered far more attention than the Lion Air crash” in Indonesia. Max 8 and Max 9 planes were grounded worldwide for nearly two years after the second crash. Since then, various manufacturing flaws have at times held up deliveries of Max jets and a larger Boeing plane, the 787. Last month, the company asked airlines to inspect their Max jets for a loose bolt in the rudder-control system. https://apnews.com/article/faa-boeing-door-blowout-investigation-alaska-airlines-5c378e8080ae1bf1e3d3f7e68d498d5c Siberian airlines seek to keep flying 50-year-old jets amid Russian plane shortage YAKUTSK, Russia, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Two Siberian airlines have asked the Russian government to extend the service life of Soviet-era Antonov aircraft, many of which are over 50 years old, as Russian planemakers scramble to plug the gap left by the exodus of foreign manufacturers. The small, propeller-driven An-24 and An-26 planes carry up to 50 passengers and are well-suited to the harsh conditions in Siberia and Russia's far north. But the cost of maintaining them will only increase after Western sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine have hit investment and access to parts, airline executives, pilots and industry experts say. The sanctions, which have banned supplies of new aircraft and parts for planes made by the likes of Boeing (BA.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA), caught Russia's aviation industry by surprise. Antonovs make up a fraction of Russia's fleet of over 1,000 passenger planes, but the call to extend their service life from the typical 60 years highlights the problems domestic planemakers are having to keep pace with demand. "It's a very reliable aircraft, all the systems work properly, there are no issues at all," Polar Airlines pilot Konstantin Nazmutdinov told Reuters. "It is very well suited to the conditions of the far north, it can withstand temperatures up to minus 55 (degrees Celsius) (-67°F). There have even been cases when we flew in up to minus 60." The Antonovs were designed in the 1950s and produced in Kyiv from the 1960s, but none has been made for almost a decade. In Yakutia, Russia's largest region almost the size of India and the heart of Russia's diamond industry, the planes are crucial. Almost 100 remain in service, with an average age of about 50 years, Sergei Zorin, deputy CEO of Siberian airline Angara, said. Some are due to be phased out as soon as this year. "By 2030, a quarter of these planes will be written off," Zorin said, without more investment in maintenance and repairs. "It is expensive, it is impossible to afford without state support," Zorin said. "We are today working in a market in which there are no alternatives to the An-24 and An-26." An official from Russia's trade and industry ministry told a meeting in parliament in November it was studying proposals from Zorin, backed by Polar Airlines, for Antonovs to be used until new, similar, Russian-made aircraft could be put into operation. The aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russia has handed out more than $12 billion in state subsidies and loans to keep its aviation sector afloat since the Western sanctions were introduced, a Reuters analysis shows. 'FLYING TRACTOR' The Antonovs don't have to land on runways, but can manage on the ground or snow. An aircraft carrying 30 passengers landed on a frozen river near an airport in Russia's far east in late December due to a pilot error. There were no casualties. "The An-24 is, as my father used to say, a flying tractor," passenger Konstantin Semyonov told Reuters on the snow-covered runway at Yakutsk airport, around 5,000 km (3,100 miles) east of Moscow. "It flies and flies and flies ... Don't be afraid to fly on it, we've been doing it for a long time." But maintaining Antonovs will soon stop being economically viable, according to Oleg Panteleev, head of the Aviaport aviation think tank. "The continuing use of An-24 and An-26 planes will inevitably raise the cost of flight hours," Panteleev told Reuters. "Keeping an aging fleet operational ... will become more and more expensive." President Vladimir Putin inadvertently highlighted the importance of Antonovs on a visit to the far east this week. "I had planned to fly to Yakutia," Putin said on Wednesday. "The plane can't land there. I had to cancel my trip to Yakutia. "This is a specific failure due to the transport arrangements," the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. Zorin does not expect mass production of the new Ladoga aircraft, the same class as the An-24 and An-26, to begin until 2027 at best, later than the government's most recent plans envisage. "The An-24 and An-26 have been and still are the only means of carrying passengers and freight in Yakutia," said Alexei Yevseev, Polar Airlines acting technical director. "There's no substitute for these planes." Everyone using these planes has experienced problems with spare parts and engine components in the last two years, he said. "This needs to be sorted." https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/siberian-airlines-seek-keep-flying-50-year-old-jets-amid-russian-plane-shortage-2024-01-11/ British Airways pilot kidnapped by thieves who emptied his bank account in South Africa The unidentified pilot was caught in a brazen ruse when he left a private development where the crew was staying to buy groceries at a Checkers Bluebird store, according to The Sun. As the pilot was leaving the store, a woman asked him to help her put her shopping bags in her vehicle. Moments later, masked men shoved the first officer into the back of the car and drove him to a remote location. While being held, he was tortured for hours until he handed over “thousands and thousands of pounds.” “It’s staggering what happened to the pilot,” a source told The Sun. “It was like something out of the movies. He fell for the scam of agreeing to help a woman in need, and before he knew it was bundled in a vehicle and driven away.” The violence only ended after he agreed to hand over the money. “He is just happy to be alive,” the source said. A British Airways pilot was kidnapped, assaulted, and robbed by South African thieves during a stop-over in Johannesburg. The unidentified pilot had stepped out of a private development where the crew was staying to go to a grocery store called Checkers Bluebird when he was kidnapped. As he was leaving the store, a woman asked him to help her put her shopping bags in her vehicle and he was shoved inside by masked men. The pilot was unable to fly the plane back to London and a replacement pilot had to be drafted in, according to The Sun. British Airways told The Sun that they are “supporting our colleague and the local authorities with their investigation.” This is the second incident featuring a British Airways employee in Johannesburg in six months, according to The Telegraph. Another pilot was stabbed in the leg while on a run in between flights and was held at gunpoint. They drove him to a remote location where he was tortured for hours until he handed over “thousands and thousands of pounds.” South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with roughly 75 taking place per day, according to the British outlet. The British government warns its citizens to be careful while traveling in South Africa, as there is a “high threat of terrorist attack.” “Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in South Africa,” the government said. “There is a high crime rate, including carjacking, ‘smash and grab’ attacks on vehicles house robbery, rape, sexual assault and murder.” It also warned that kidnappings were on the rise in the African country, warning they are typically performed for “financial gain.” The US State Department rates South Africa as a “Level 2,” meaning it advises Americans to “exercise increased caution” while traveling through the country. “There is a higher risk of violent crime in the central business districts of major cities after dark,” it warned. https://nypost.com/2024/01/11/news/british-airways-pilot-kidnapped-assaulted-by-thieves-who-emptied-his-bank-account-in-south-africa/ Airplane crashes at Livingston airport, 2 passengers injured Thursday The FAA reports the plane which crashed Thursday was a twin-engine Learjet 55 which had two people on board. The learjet landed on Runway 22 and then slid off the end at Mission Field Airport in Livingston, Montana around 8:30 AM, according to the FAA Statement made to NonStop Local. The investigation is still ongoing. The FAA will post a preliminary incident report here, likely within the next business day, and after investigators verify the aircraft registration number, it can be searched here. Livingston, Mont. — An airplane crashed after missing the runway at the Livingston airport Thursday morning, according to the Park County Sherriff's Office. Just after 9:00 AM on Thursday, January 11, 2024, the FAA reported an airplane missed the runway and crashed at the Livingston airport. Park County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene with the Montana Highway Patrol and Livingston Fire and Rescue. Passengers have been transported to an undisclosed hospital to tend to injuries, according to the Park County Sherriff's Office. The number of people injured and what injuries they obtained is not known at this time. https://www.montanarightnow.com/bozeman/airplane-crashes-at-livingston-airport-2-passengers-injured-thursday/article_34bf7cca-b0c9-11ee-89ad-33aef8dd5e09.html TSA finds a record number of guns at airport checkpoints – 93% of them loaded For the third year in a row, a record number of airline passengers’ guns were intercepted by airport security officers before those weapons could make it aboard a flight. Airport security officers prevented passengers from carrying more than 6,700 prohibited guns onto airplanes in 2023, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA said 93% of the 6,737 firearms found by its security officers at checkpoints were loaded. The previous record for intercepted firearms at airports was set in 2022, with 6,542 firearms stopped at checkpoints, a number that surpassed the previous record in 2021. Last year, TSA screened more than 858 million people, which indicates the agency intercepted 7.8 firearms per million passengers – a drop from 8.6 per million passengers in 2022, the agency said. “We are still seeing far too many firearms at TSA checkpoints, and what’s particularly concerning is the amount of them loaded, presenting an unnecessary risk to everyone at the TSA checkpoint,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said Wednesday in a news release. “Firearms and ammunition are strictly prohibited in carry-on baggage. Passengers are only allowed to travel with an unloaded firearm, and only if they pack it properly in a locked, hard-sided case in their checked baggage and first declare it to the airline at the check-in counter.” When a firearm is detected at a security checkpoint, officers immediately contact local law enforcement, who remove the passenger and the firearm from the checkpoint area, the TSA said. Depending on local laws, a law enforcement officer could arrest or cite the passenger. TSA does not confiscate firearms. TSA warns passengers who bring a gun to a checkpoint face a fine of up to $15,000, ineligibility for the PreCheck expedited screening program and potential criminal charges. https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/10/us/tsa-record-firearms-guns-airport-checkpoints/index.html Alaska Airlines Announces Compensation For Passengers Who Experienced Plane Door Incident • Alaska Airlines Offers Refund & Extra Pay After Plane Door Incident • Alaska Airlines is moving to compensate passengers affected by a recent plane door incident. According to The Wall Street Journal, the airlines informed Flight 1282 travelers of this compensation “hours after” the plane made an emergency landing. The information came via email. It included an “apology, a full refund for the aborted flight, and $1,500 to assist with any inconveniences.” Alaska Airlines’ email to passengers reportedly did not mention complimentary mental health support or counseling assistance. However, their email to WSJ allegedly did. Impacted Passenger Reacts To Compensation Package Offer From Alaska Airlines According to WSJ, not all of Flight 1282’s passengers have decided whether a refund and $1,500 payout is enough compensation. Nicholas Hoch, 33, told the outlet he’s still processing the incident and the company’s response. “I haven’t fully processed if that payment is enough or not,” Nicholas said. “I don’t know how this is going to affect me in the coming weeks and months, you know?” Hoch was onboard the aircraft when it “cracked open several minutes after takeoff” while he was headed to see his girlfriend in Ontario. After the emergency landing, Nicholas says he waited another two hours for a customer service agent to rebook him on a new flight. On Tuesday (Jan. 9), he was still deciding whether to accept the airline’s financial and other offers. Hoch revealed he is considering seeing a specialist — outside of the mental health resources the airline shared with WSJ. That service alone could severely cut into the $1,500 reward. “Just think about if you went to a trauma therapist. How much does $1,500 get you?” Nicholas said. “I don’t know, it’s not a lot.” Nicholas Hoch also told the outlet that Alaska Airlines should’ve given the impacted passengers “a voice” in calculating the extra pay. WSJ reports that Alaska Airlines’ contract of carriage with passengers provides insight into its refund policy. However, the contract does not offer clarity or guidelines about compensation in extreme situations like the plane door incident. At this time, no passengers have filed a lawsuit against the airline, though that could change as time passes. Here’s What Happened On Flight 1282 As previously reported, an Alaska Airlines aircraft traveling from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, was grounded on Jan. 5 after “a door plug detached during flight,” per the airline’s statement. There were reportedly 171 passengers, including four minors, and six crew members on board. An auto pressurization “fail light” showed up on the impacted Boeing 737 Max 9 plane at least three times before Jan. 5, per CNN. Each time, it was tested and reset by maintenance. Then, on Friday (Jan. 5), while the plane was 16,000 feet in the air, the plane’s “plug door” and a window popped off. Immediately, the result was headrests being ripped off of seats and even items being sucked out of an aircraft, including a shirt a boy was wearing. Thankfully, Alaska Airlines says no passengers were assigned seats 26A and 26B, right next to the affected plug door. After landing, one person was taken to hospital, and a few others received medical attention, but no one sustained fatal injuries. https://theshaderoom.com/alaska-airlines-passengers-compensation-full-refund-plane-door-incident/ Personal Aircraft Requiring No Certificate to Fly Hits U.S. Market Pivotal’s Helix is an electric vertical takeoff and landing design that qualifies as a Part 103 ultralight built for recreational flyers. If you’ve dreamed of taking to the skies but are too busy to put in the hours for a full program of flight training, there’s a strange new aircraft you can fly without a certificate—and it’s now on sale in the U.S. Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Pivotal this week opened online sales of Helix, a personal flying vehicle for first-time aviators and experienced pilots alike. Like a video game, Helix is controlled by a single pilot using a pair of simple joysticks, plus fly-by-wire controls. For $190,000, Pivotal will train customers to fly it and send them on their way in their very own aircraft. Pivotal, which is backed by Google co-founder and ex-CEO Larry Page, unveiled Helix in October when it rebranded from Opener Aero. Prior to that, the firm actually sold half a dozen preproduction BlackFly aircraft. In June, it said it was the first company to actually deliver an eVTOL to a paying customer. Helix, which unlike BlackFly is scalable for production, was designed mainly for personal or recreational use. The aircraft is available in three differently priced configurations, with initial customer shipments scheduled for June. With an empty weight below 350 pounds, Helix qualifies as a Part 103 ultralight aircraft, meaning the FAA does not require pilot certification to fly it. In lieu of hundreds of hours of flight training, Pivotal requires customers to complete about two weeks of initial training at its Palo Alto, California, headquarters, with recurrent training after they earn their wings. While more expensive than a typical automobile, Helix’s $190,000 base price tag is at the low end of the range for popular personal aircraft. It costs slightly more than a Texas Aircraft Colt, for example, but less than a Beechcraft G36 Bonanza, Diamond DA40 NG, Piper Archer LX, or Cessna models such as the 182 Skylane or 172 Skyhawk. “We’re proud to begin selling, and soon delivering, our Helix aircraft,” said Ken Karklin, CEO of Pivotal. “The market is ready for the wonder of aerial recreation and short-hop eVTOL travel. We are ready to provide the beauty and freedom of personal flight to a whole lot of people with a passion for flying and an interest in creating a new generation of aviators and aviation,” To fly Helix, owners must be at least 18 years old, weigh less than 220 pounds, and stand no taller than 6-foot-5. Customers can place a nonrefundable $250 application fee on Pivotal’s website. To lock up a production slot and receive a forecasted ship date, they’ll need to deposit another $50,000 within five business days of the initial order. One of the more eye-catching features is its “tilt aircraft” architecture. Tilting rotors or propellers are not uncommon to eVTOL designs, aiding in both vertical and horizontal flight. Pivotal, however, decided to scrap the moving parts and tilt the entire carbon fiber composite airframe between takeoff and cruise—this, it says, reduces weight, complexity, and points of failure. Helix relies entirely on propulsion for hover but can cruise on its fixed wings, flying quieter than even an electric car. To switch flight modes, users simply push a button on one of the two joysticks and pull back. The transition happens pretty quickly, as seen below: Ease of use was a central tenet in Helix’s design: It enables both autotakeoff and autolanding, for example. An integrated display and user interface, meanwhile, give the pilot real-time altitude, location, speed, and other measurements. Helix represents a major upgrade on BlackFly, with a redesigned canopy and flight deck, more comfortable seating, and improved power, propulsion, and performance. But it maintains its predecessor’s portability, capable of fitting into a 16-foot trailer and going from storage to the sky in less than 30 minutes. Owners will be able to download a free smartphone app that simplifies preflight checks, captures flight history, and manages charging and aircraft service. Aircraft add-ons include a transport trailer; fast charging; aviation and ground radios; ADS-B; and a gimbal camera, which would allow someone on the ground to watch the flight as if they’re in the air with the pilot. As a Part 103 ultralight, Helix speeds up time to fly in exchange for certain operational restrictions. For example, pilots will be required to fly during daytime and in Class G airspace, far from congested airspace and airports. The aircraft is also restricted to about a 20 sm (17 nm) range and 63 mph (55 knot) cruise speed. Since the eVTOL is built for inexperienced flyers, Pivotal made sure to load it with safety features. When necessary, it can land on water, for example, and only six of its eight rotors are required for flight and landing, in addition to other fault-tolerant systems. A landing camera, beacon lights, and whole-aircraft ballistic parachute add further layers of protection. Starting only in the U.S., Helix can be purchased in three configurations. The $190,000 base package includes a digital flight panel, canopy, HD landing camera, charger, vehicle cart, custom marking, comprehensive pilot training, and warranty. A $240,000 package comes with a glossier finish and all of the features above, plus even more. The priciest option, at $260,000, includes everything in the first two packages plus premium features, such as beacon aircraft lighting, and the option to fully customize the exterior for an added fee. Pivotal may provide a good litmus test for the integration of outlandish new aircraft such as Helix into airspace used by GA traffic. But Karklin told FLYING the company may one day certify Helix as a light sport aircraft (LSA) under updated FAA rules, should they come to fruition. That could enable some commercial applications, and the Pivotal CEO listed public service and defense as possible future use cases. https://www.flyingmag.com/personal-aircraft-requiring-no-certificate-to-fly-hits-u-s-market/ Airbus lands record orders in 2023, beats Boeing on deliveries Jan 11 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) reported record annual jet orders and confirmed an 11% rise in 2023 deliveries on Thursday, maintaining the top manufacturing spot against rival Boeing (BA.N) for a fifth year. As airlines scramble to renew fleets, Airbus said it had won 2,319 gross orders and 2,094 net orders after cancellations. Confirming a Reuters report, it said it delivered 735 airplanes, leaving its order backlog at 8,598. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said the planemaker, which made a slow start to the year as it wrestled with tight supply chains, had seen "increased flexibility and capability" in its industrial system. He added that he was confident Airbus would meet a target of 75 A320neo family jets being assembled a month in 2026. While orders have soared past pre-pandemic levels amid brisk travel demand, Faury said he did not think that Airbus would recapture its record 2019 delivery levels of some 870 planes as early as this year. It will give 2024 targets in February. "The situation in the supply chain is still tense. It's improving, it's getting better, but we are also flying higher as we continue to ramp up in 2024," Faury told a news conference. Christian Scherer, who in January stepped up from the top sales job to become CEO of the core commercial aircraft business, said aviation had recovered faster than expected from the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in large widebodies. "The responsibility is to live up to this commitment to deliver a backlog of 8,600 aircraft on time, on quality," he said. Airbus is sold out until the end of the decade for single-aisle jets and 2028 for widebodies, Scherer said. He reaffirmed that the A321XLR, the company's latest and longest-range single-aisle jet, would see its first delivery in the second quarter. Boeing, which is still recovering from a safety grounding of its 737 MAX followed by a spate of production problems and a fresh partial grounding of the 737 MAX 9, said on Tuesday it had delivered 528 aircraft in 2023. It booked 1,314 net new orders after allowing for cancellations. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/airbus-posts-record-orders-keeps-delivery-crown-2023-2024-01-11/ Aviation Certification: FAA Should Evaluate Effectiveness of the International Validation Process U.S. manufacturers export billions of dollars' worth of airplanes and other aviation products each year. Exported products require safety approvals from both the exporting and the importing country. Manufacturers told us it's hard to predict how long other countries will take to approve their products. They also said countries are requesting more data and extending timelines, and the Federal Aviation Administration is short-staffed—affecting how much it can help companies. FAA could find ways to help make safety validations more predictable if it evaluates whether the whole process is effective. We recommended it do so. What GAO Found U.S. companies export billions of dollars' worth of aviation products, such as airplanes and engines, each year. These products require safety approval from both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the importing countries' civil aviation authorities (CAA). Bilateral agreements between the U.S. and countries representing the five largest aviation export markets aim to facilitate these approvals through acceptance or validation of each other's product certifications. The approval processes laid out in the implementing procedures for these agreements vary depending on the product's type and complexity. For example, CAA's conduct detailed technical validations for higher risk products with new designs or technologies. These validations can involve extensive review of product designs and other information for the CAA to assess compliance with its own country's regulations and safety and environmental standards. The fourteen stakeholders GAO interviewed reported that in recent years, validation time frames have become unpredictable as CAAs have requested more data from aviation manufacturers. Stakeholders cited contributing factors, including CAAs' decreased trust in FAA's certifications after the Boeing 737 MAX 8 accidents in 2018 and 2019. They said that receiving FAA's support—including resolving disputes with other countries' CAAs—can also be challenging due to limited FAA staffing and resources. FAA recently began collecting and using more detailed information to improve its management of international validations, such as tracking the number of active validations by country. However, FAA has not evaluated the effectiveness of the validations process as a whole. FAA officials said they are beginning to develop an approach for assessing the process, including identifying performance goals and needed data. However, FAA has not yet identified specific steps or a time frame for developing the approach. Assessing the validations process could help FAA identify improvements that might lead to increased predictability in the process and improved accountability to bilateral agreements. Why GAO Did This Study For many years, the U.S. has entered into bilateral agreements with certain other countries to facilitate acceptance of each other's certifications of aviation products. However, U.S. companies continue to report experiencing difficulties in obtaining approvals of their products in other countries. GAO was asked to review the approvals process for U.S. aviation products. This report (1) describes the processes that FAA and CAAs in the most significant export markets for U.S. aviation products use to approve each other's product certifications, (2) examines validation challenges stakeholders identified, and (3) evaluates how FAA ensures that the international validations process is effective. GAO selected five international markets based on the number of validations and reviewed selected bilateral agreements and implementation procedures, FAA data, and FAA's validation policies and guidance. GAO also interviewed 14 aviation industry stakeholders and CAA officials from three countries. Recommendations GAO is making four recommendations, including that FAA (1) establish quantifiable goals for the international validations process; (2) identify quality information and performance metrics to track progress towards those goals; (3) use that information to assess results and inform decisions about any needed improvements to the process; and (4) establish a time frame and action plan for these efforts. FAA agreed with the recommendations. Recommendations for Executive Action Agency Affected Recommendation Status Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of FAA should establish quantifiable goals for the international validations process. (Recommendation 1) Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information. Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of FAA should identify the quality information and performance metrics the agency needs to track progress toward the goals it identifies for the international validations process and how it will collect that information, which may include changes to agency data systems or dashboards. (Recommendation 2) Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information. Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of FAA should use the information FAA collects to assess the results of and inform decisions about any needed improvements to the international validations process. (Recommendation 3) Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information. Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of FAA should establish a time frame and develop an action plan for FAA's efforts to develop its approach for assessing the international validations process. (Recommendation 4) Open When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106040 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