Flight Safety Information - January 24, 2024 No. 018 In This Issue : Accident: Northwestern JS32 at Fort Smith on Jan 23rd 2024, lost height after takeoff : Incident: Lufthansa A20N near Amsterdam on Jan 21st 2024, smell of smoke in cabin : Incident: Delta B752 at Atlanta on Jan 20th 2024, you chose a fine time to leave me loose wheel : Indian aviation regulator imposes hefty fine on Air India over safety violation : NTSB’s investigation of 2022 fatal plane crash reveals alcohol in pilot’s system : Airlines Filed 1,800 Reports Warning Regulators About Boeing’s 737 Max : Unruly passengers were a problem before the pandemic. Now they’re even worse : FAA chief vows ‘boots on the ground’ at Boeing until quality control system is working : Airbus opens first service centre dedicated to the entire lifecycle of an aircraft : ISASI 2024 Call for Papers : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Accident: Northwestern JS32 at Fort Smith on Jan 23rd 2024, lost height after takeoff A Northwestern Air BAe British Aerospace Jetstream, performing a charter flight from Fort Smith,NT to Diavik Diamond Mine,NT (Canada) with an unknown number of people on board, lost height shortly after takeoff from Fort Smith*s runway 21 and impacted ground about 500-1100 meters/1650-3600 feet off the end of the departure runway west of the airport at about 08:45L (15:45Z). Canadian Authorities report, there have been a so far unknown number of fatilities, initial reports 10 of the occupants may have been killed with the 11th being critically injured, were retracted. Authorities reported rescuers were parachuted to the accident site. The local Coroner confirmed there have been fatalities. The airline reported one of their Jetstreams was involved in the accident causing a number of fatalities. According to the operator of the Diavik Diamond Mine, Rio Tinto, the aircraft was carrying Rio Tinto workers to their mine. The Canadian TSB have deployed an investigation team. The local hospital reported they activated the mass casualty protocol at about 08:50L. According to the airline's website they operate 6 Jetstream 3100 and 5 Jetstream 3200 aircraft, all aircraft able to carry 19 passengers. According to ADS-B data Jetstream 3200 JS32 registration C-FNAA was operating in and out of Fort Smith during January 2024, however, the tail number of the accident aircraft is currently unknown. https://avherald.com/h?article=51411802&opt=0 Incident: Lufthansa A20N near Amsterdam on Jan 21st 2024, smell of smoke in cabin A Lufthansa Airbus A320-200N, registration D-AINC performing flight LH-964 from Frankfurt/Main (Germany) to Edinburgh,SC (UK), was enroute at FL380 about 40nm west of Amsterdam (Netherlands) when the crew decided to divert to Amsterdam reporting a smokey smell in the cabin. The aircraft landed safely on Amsterdam's runway 18C about 30 minutes later. The remainder of the flight was cancelled. The occurrence aircraft returned to Frankfurt the following day after 17 hours on the ground. https://avherald.com/h?article=5140aea1&opt=0 Incident: Delta B752 at Atlanta on Jan 20th 2024, you chose a fine time to leave me loose wheel A Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N672DL performing flight DL-982 from Atlanta,GA (USA) to Bogota (Colombia) with 184 passengers and 6 crew, lined up Atlanta's runway 27R when one of the nose wheels separated and rolled away. The aircraft was towed off the runway about 2:10 hours later. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT DURING LINE UP AND WAIT, NOSE WHEEL CAME OFF AND ROLLED DOWN THE HILL, ATLANTA, GA." A replacement Boeing 757-200, registration N6707A reached Bogota with a delay of about 5:15 hours. The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 22 hours later. https://avherald.com/h?article=5140ab01&opt=0 Indian aviation regulator imposes hefty fine on Air India over safety violation The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) spotted a safety violation. DGCA, India's civil aviation regulator was investigating Air India following a safety report filed by an airline employee Air India, the country's former national carrier now owned by the Tata Group, will have to shell out Rs 1.1 crore (about USD 132,000) in fines after Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) spotted a safety violation. DGCA, India's civil aviation regulator was investigating Air India following a safety report filed by an airline employee. The report alleges safety violations on certain "long-range terrain critical routes". ANI reported that the inquiry by the regulator indicated non-compliance by Air India. The DCGA had then issued a Show Cause Notice to Air India Limited. "In response, DGCA has taken enforcement action, imposing a penalty of Rs 1.10 crore on M/s Air India," DGCA said. “Pursuant to the receipt of a voluntary safety report from an airline employee alleging safety violations of flights operated by M/s Air India on certain long range terrain critical routes, DGCA conducted a comprehensive investigation into the alleged violations," the regulator said. "And whereas a comprehensive investigation was carried out with respect to said operations of Air India on B-777 (200 LR) aircraft leased from Delta airlines with 12 minutes chemical passenger oxygen system on BOM/BLR-SFO route," the order stated. DGCA has said that the response from Air India was examined against statutory provisions and original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-specified performance limits. This, said the regulator, led to revelation of discrepancies in operations of leased aircraft. The safety violation complaint received by DGCA was in connected with flights operated on Mumbai/Bengaluru-San Francisco routes. Leased Boeing B777 aircraft were used on this route November 2022 onwards, said media reports. This is not the first time the DGCA has imposed fine on Air India. Recently, the civil aviation watchdog imposed fine of Rs 30 lakh (USD 36092) on Air India and SpiceJet each after it found lapses in pilot rostering in relation with operating flights in low visibility conditions. https://www.wionews.com/india-news/indian-aviation-regulator-imposes-hefty-fine-on-air-india-over-safety-violation-683232 NTSB’s investigation of 2022 fatal plane crash reveals alcohol in pilot’s system TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Details behind a 2022 plane crash investigation that killed a pilot in Topeka have been revealed, claiming that the pilot “consumed alcohol near the time of the flight.” On July 16, 2022, Steven Stucky took off from a private airstrip in his 2007 RV-7 airplane. Until the report states, “the plane depart(ed) and enter(ed) a near-vertical climb. The airplane’s nose dropped with a turn to the right and entered a nose-low, near-vertical descent until the airplane impacted terrain.” The National Transportation Safety Board has determined the probable cause of the accident to be: “The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control while performing an aerobatic maneuver on takeoff, which resulted in exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, a subsequent aerodynamic stall, and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impairment from alcohol consumption before the flight.” According to the report, the toxicology testing performed by the Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Sciences Laboratory detected ethanol in the pilot’s (Stucky’s) cavity blood at 0.069 gm/dL. The report notes how ethanol is considered a social drug commonly consumed by drinking beer, wine, or liquor. The NTSB’s report cites Title 14 CFR Section 91.17 (a), which says in part: “No person may act or attempt to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft (1) Within 8 hours after the consumption of any alcoholic beverage; (1) While under the influence of alcohol; (3) While using any drug that affects the person’s faculties in any way contrary to safety; or (4) while having an alcohol concentration of 0.040gm/dL or greater in a blood or breath specimen.” Also noted in the report was the fact that examination of the airframe and engine of the plane following the crash “did not reveal evidence of any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.” An autopsy performed by the Shawnee Co. Coroner’s Office determined Stucky’s cause of death was multiple blunt impact injuries. Previous WIBW records say that the Kansas Air National Guard said that before Stucky passed, he logged over 5,000 hours in the air, and he was named the 190th’s Command Chief Master Sergeant in 2001 and served in that role until his retirement in 2004. Stucky’s obituary says he has received multiple ratings, including Visual Flight Rules, Commercial, Formation Flying Inc., and Dynamic Maneuvering with the International Council of Airshows. https://www.wibw.com/2024/01/23/ntsbs-investigation-2022-fatal-plane-crash-reveals-alcohol-pilots-system/ Airlines Filed 1,800 Reports Warning Regulators About Boeing’s 737 Max After the planes resumed flying in 2020, documents show operators reported hundreds of safety problems to federal regulators. Over the last three years, operators of Boeing’s troubled 737 Max planes have filed more than 1,800 service difficulty reports — more than one per day — warning government regulators about safety problems with the aircraft since the fleet was allowed to resume flying after two fatal crashes. All but roughly 150 of the reports came from Alaska Airlines — the operator of a 737 Max plane that suffered a mid-air cabin breach over Portland, Oregon earlier this month. Between December 2020 and September 2023, Alaska Airlines filed more than 1,230 reports related to the 53 Boeing 737 Max planes it had in its fleet. For comparison, during the same period the airline filed 25 reports for its 10 Airbus A321 Neo airplanes, the main competitor to Boeing’s 737 Max. The federal safety reports, compiled by the nonprofit Foundation for Aviation Safety, detail a host of issues with the 737 Max that go far beyond the myriad problems that have plagued Boeing planes in recent weeks. They include fuel leaks on potentially hundreds of planes caused by misapplied sealant, malfunctioning stabilizing motors, debris found in fuel tanks, engine stalls during takeoff, and malfunctioning anti-ice systems, among other issues. Boeing is currently seeking an FAA exemption to use an anti-ice system that can allegedly cause engine failure if left on too long. Safety advocates assert that understaffed airline regulators have failed to acknowledge or address the problems — all while Boeing has spent millions to curry favor with lawmakers through lobbying and campaign contributions. Though many of the incidents detailed in the safety reports would not necessarily cause a plane to crash, the totality of the incidents point to serious issues with Boeing’s production process, said Ed Pierson, a former senior Boeing employee and founder of the Foundation for Aviation Safety. “What we’re talking about is a cumulative effect of multiple emergencies at the same time,” Pierson told The Lever. “These add up, and these are new planes [that] should not be having these problems. There are clearly manufacturing defects because the planes haven’t been operated long enough to do any kind of maintenance on them.” Representatives for Boeing did not respond to requests for comment. According to Pierson, officials at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates U.S. civil aviation, ignored concerns about the safety reports in March 2023. That same month, acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation he felt confident about the aircraft. “I can say categorically that the 737 Max airplane is safe,” Nolen said. These revelations come after The Lever reported on employees allegedly being told to falsify safety records at Spirit AeroSystems, a Boeing subcontractor. The Lever also detailed how Boeing lobbied for weakened safety regulations, how the company showered its executives with hundreds of millions of dollars and spent billions buying back stocks to juice shareholder profits, and how GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley helped kill an initiative that would have forced Boeing to more fully disclose its political spending. Some critics blame the FAA, under the direction of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, which they say is plagued by chronic understaffing, weakened oversight capabilities, and reputational damage. “Not only is the FAA not doing their jobs, Sec. Pete Buttigieg’s office is horribly not doing its job,” Pierson said. “The FAA is required by law and by policy to investigate these incidents, to identify root causes and develop corrective actions. And what we’re seeing is these systems failing repeatedly.” In a statement to The Lever, the FAA said the safety reports are only one component of how issues are reported, and noted that some airlines may file more reports than what is required. The FAA also said they have not found a growing number of reports filed for 737 Max planes. “We have seen no evidence of a decrease in airlines’ use of the [service difficulty report] system,” the FAA wrote. “Overall, we are not seeing more [reports] filed for the Max than for other aircraft similar in size, use, and age.” The FAA added that its safety approach “has resulted in the safest period in aviation history.” In a statement to The Lever, the Transportation Department said the FAA took immediate action to ground more than 150 Boeing 737 Max planes after the mid-flight breach earlier this month, vowed to investigate Boeing and its subcontractors, and pledged to reconsider measures that delegated safety evaluations to the airline manufacturers themselves. “Aggressive action is being taken to get to the bottom of this incident, all options remain on the table to ensure aircraft are safe, and [FAA] Administrator Mike Whitaker has called for a re-examination of the delegation authority that Congress expanded in the 2018 FAA reauthorization bill,” a Transportation Department spokesperson said. “Soaked With Fuel” These new revelations are detailed in service difficulty reports, which airlines are required to file with the FAA any time an aircraft that is certified to fly in the U.S. experiences safety issues or system malfunctions. These reports must be submitted within 96 hours of an incident, which could include false warning notifications, noxious odors, fuel leaks, engine shutdowns, brake system malfunctions, and other incidents The Foundation for Aviation Safety compiled and analyzed all reports that have been filed related to Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft since the planes were allowed to resume flying in November 2020, following a 18-month grounding after two 737 Max airplane crashes killed 346 people. The 737 Max line, launched in 2011, was hailed as more-fuel efficient than its predecessors, but has been plagued by recurring safety issues for a significant portion of its use. Between the four U.S. carriers that operate 737 Max planes — Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines — the foundation found records of 1,868 total service difficulty reports, 1,708 of which came from Alaska Airlines. In March 2023, Pierson said he brought his concerns to Billy Nolen, then FAA’s top administrator, and urged him to investigate the reports. “The response was unsatisfactory,” Pierson said. According to a subsequent Foundation for Aviation Safety analysis of these Service Difficulty Reports, among the most serious concerns highlighted for Boeing’s 737 Max planes include flight control issues, engine stalls that sometimes happen during takeoff, and issues with motors that help control the aircraft’s altitude. Additionally, there have been more than 80 reports filed since April 2021 involving the anti-ice system on Boeing’s 737 Max planes. Previously, in 2018, an anti-ice system caused a part of the engine on a 737 plane to snap off and strike a window, resulting in a fatality on a Southwest flight. Boeing is currently seeking an FAA exemption to use a new anti-ice system on its 737 Max planes, but critics have warned against this, saying that if the system is left on for more than five minutes, engine parts could overheat and snap off. According to comments submitted to the FAA by the Foundation for Aviation Safety, there is no reminder for the pilot to shut the system off before the recommended time limit. “I’ve had pilots tell me that it’s kind of like being told to not forget to turn off your rear-defroster on your car,” Pierson said. The Foundation for Aviation Safety’s compilation of reports also includes 10 incidents involving bolts that were “damaged,” “broken,” “unthreaded,” and other issues pointing to ineffective bolting. As of December 2023, there were 1,160 737 Max series planes in operation. Considering that the overwhelming number of safety reports came from Alaska Airlines, which currently operates only 66 Max planes, Pierson believes that the other U.S. airlines using 737 Max planes — American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines — could be underreporting related issues. “The other three carriers don’t appear to be submitting their reports in accordance with the spirit of the law, because we know that the Alaska planes were not built in a group,” Pierson said. “Southwest Airlines has over 180 Max airplanes and just a fraction of the reports. We think what’s happening is that they’re choosing not to submit [the reports], and the FAA is not holding them accountable.” In a statement to The Lever, Southwest Airlines said it complies with FAA reporting standards. “Southwest Airlines fully complies with those regulations for all aircraft in the fleet,” a Southwest spokesperson said. “The safety of our customers and employees is paramount.” United Airlines declined to comment for the story. Alaska Airlines and American Airlines did not respond to a request for comment by publication. “FAA Should Not Have Ungrounded The Plane” Boeing’s production and safety issues are also detailed in corrective measures called airworthiness directives that the FAA issues for aircraft manufacturers to “correct an unsafe condition.” In May 2020, the FAA issued a directive for Boeing to fix fuel leaks in up to 731 planes that were caused by a production drawing that “lacked clarity” on where sealant should be applied. The leaks were discovered after a fuel smell was reported in the cabin during a 2019 flight, causing the plane to be diverted. A post-flight inspection found insulation blankets “soaked with fuel” which could lead to “an ignition of flammable fluid vapors, fire, or explosion, or fuel vapor inhalation by passengers and crew,” the FAA wrote in the directive. Other directives issued to Boeing in recent years involve its flight control system that caused the two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. Former president Donald Trump’s FAA decided to ground the entire 737 Max series on March 13, 2019 — days after dozens of other governments worldwide decided to ground the planes. The FAA issued an initial corrective measure in 2020 that aimed to address the core problems with the flight control system, and the planes were allowed to resume flying on Nov. 18, 2020. But the FAA had to issue another corrective measure in 2021 for similar issues that could affect the “controllability of the airplane,” the FAA wrote. “Another day and another piece of evidence indicating that the Boeing 737 Max is not as safe as it should be and that the FAA did not take safety seriously enough when working to unground the plane,” FlyersRights, a passenger advocacy group, wrote in an FAA comment regarding the corrective measure in 2021. “The FAA should not have ungrounded the plane without independent experts gaining access to technical data and documents that convinced the FAA that the 737 Max is safe.” Boeing’s production issues also include foreign object debris left in roughly half of all Boeing 737 Max planes that had yet to be delivered in 2020, and Boeing has faced issues with foreign object debris more recently. In December 2022, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive for Boeing 787-series planes that may have had debris left in them during work on engine fire shutoff switches. Following the midair cabin breach on a 737 Max-9 jet earlier this month, 171 Max 9 planes have been grounded, pending an FAA investigation. https://www.levernews.com/airlines-filed-1-800-reports-warning-regulators-about-boeings-737-max/ Unruly passengers were a problem before the pandemic. Now they’re even worse Passenger Philip Baum recently experienced one of the most uncomfortable flights of his life. To Baum, it was obvious his seatmate, a stranger, was drunk. Flight crew, he says, “denied him alcohol.” “But in front of me, he managed to sneak more alcohol off the trolley,” Baum recalls. For Baum, who was seated in the economy cabin, being in such close proximity to the “unruly” passenger for multiple hours wasn’t pleasant. “I actually thought I’d throw up,” he tells CNN Travel. “The guy pulled out his nails. He was bleeding. He stank, and he was blind drunk.” Moreover, Baum was worried the passenger, who didn’t seem fully in control, “was going to completely lose it” at any moment. “In the end, I spent about four hours talking to him and calming him down,” Baum recalls. Throughout the flight, Baum felt himself working hard to control his own reaction to the situation. He felt, at several points, on the precipice of giving in to his own anger and frustration. “The only reason I didn’t become unruly was because I thought, ‘Philip, you know better. You can’t suddenly become unruly,’” he says. Baum is an aviation security expert, the former editor-in-chief of Transport Security International Magazine and the founder of DISPAX World, the international conference on Unruly Airline Passenger Management and Restraint. Given his background, Baum found himself wondering – only half-jokingly – whether the whole incident was some kind of “test.” Pre-pandemic, statistics recorded by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicated unruly airplane passengers were on the rise. Discussions about the issue were ramping up, with the European Aviation Safety Agency launching its #notonmyflight initiative in 2019, aiming to increase passenger awareness. During the peak Covid years, fewer flights didn’t equal fewer problems – at least not in the US, where reported incidents ballooned. In early 2021, Federal Aviation Authority data reached what an FAA spokesperson tells CNN Travel was “record highs,” with many altercations based around the then-mandated face mask rule. As American flight attendant Susannah Carr told CNN Travel that year: “I come in expecting to have a passenger that could potentially get violent.” Reported incidents in the US have since fallen, but remain notably higher than pre-pandemic levels. IATA and FAA data can only tell us so much (not every airline that’s part of IATA submits data, while not every airline records every instance of unruly behavior) but the conversation around disruptive passengers remains heated. As incidents regularly hit the headlines (including passengers sliding down the evacuation slide, hitting and biting flight attendants and forcing aircraft to divert from their intended destination, to name but a few) aviation authorities are clamping down, flight attendants are speaking up and aviation experts are questioning how we got here, and whether we can change the tide. Levels of unruliness IATA classifies unruly behavior incidents into four levels. Level 1 is “minor” (IATA’s “Cabin Operations Safety Best Practice Manual” suggests this could be argumentative behavior or non-compliance with safety regulations). Level 2 is “moderate” (physically aggressive behavior, for example). Level 3 is “serious” (i.e. dangerous behavior, an “intent or threat to injure,” as IATA puts it). Level 4 is “flight deck breach” (which IATA classifies as “credible threat of death). The latest available IATA data, from 2022, indicates most disruptive passenger incidents involved non-compliance, verbal abuse and intoxication. These incidents are less extreme, but are still seen as potentially detrimental to flight safety. In a 2023 document called “Even safer and more enjoyable air travel for all: A strategy for reducing unruly and disruptive passenger incidents,” IATA states that while “only a tiny minority” of passengers behave badly, these travelers “have a disproportionate impact.” Incidents could “threaten the safety and security of the aircraft, other passengers, and crew,” says IATA. There’s also the mental health impact on crew and passengers, and increased likelihood of inconvenient diversions, delays or cancellations. Unruly passengers, “can compromise the ability for cabin crew to undertake their safety duties,” former flight attendant Liz Simmons, who flew for 17 years, tells CNN Travel. Simmons, who is Australian, is now working on a PhD examining the physical and psychosocial well-being of cabin crew in Oceania, and how that intersects with performance and safety behaviors. Simmons says disruptive passenger incidents can cause “physical, emotional or psychological injury,” for flight attendants and other passengers alike. https://www.cnn.com/travel/unruly-airplane-passengers-post-pandemic-problem/index.html FAA chief vows ‘boots on the ground’ at Boeing until quality control system is working KEY POINTS • The FAA launched an audit of Boeing’s aircraft production after a door panel blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight. • The agency has dispatched a “couple of dozen” inspectors to Boeing’s production lines, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told CNBC. • “We’re shifting from more of an audit approach to a direct inspection approach,” he said. WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration has “boots on the ground” at Boeing’s 737 Max factory — and will keep them there until the agency is convinced the manufacturer’s quality control system is working, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told CNBC. The FAA earlier in January said it will audit Boeing’s Max production line, after an almost brand-new Boeing 737 Max 9′s door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight at 16,000 feet, exposing passengers to a force so powerful it sucked out seatbacks and headrests, according to federal investigators. No one was seriously injured on the flight, and no one had been seated next to the gaping hole left by the blowout. The FAA grounded that model of Boeing’s best-selling 737 Max a day after the accident and later said it will increase oversight of the company’s production lines. “We’ve got a lot of inspectors on the ground, visually inspecting the aircraft as it comes through,” Whitaker said Tuesday in an interview at FAA headquarters. “We’re shifting from more of an audit approach to a direct inspection approach.” The scale of such a review is a challenge, Whitaker said, citing the manpower required to conduct that many inspections. The FAA has dispatched a “couple of dozen” inspectors, he said. “Until we’re comfortable that the [quality assurance] system is working properly ... we’re going to have boots on the ground,” he said. Both Alaska and United Airlines said they found loose bolts on several Max 9 planes during preliminary inspections. Return to service The FAA is working with Boeing and airlines on inspection instructions that would pave the way for the 737 Max 9 to return to service. Whitaker, who is three months into the FAA’s top job, declined to comment on when he expected the planes to return to service. “It’s been difficult to predict, so we’ve sort of stopped trying,” he said. “But as soon as we get it sorted out it’ll be up again.” Though safety inspections were initially estimated to take between four and eight hours per plane, Whitaker said they’ve “been longer than that.” “We’ve required a lot of measurements,” he said. “Once the area’s exposed, we want to understand bolt tensions and gaps and things of that nature. So we’ve required more data than would normally be the case because we really wanted to understand the issue.” United, which has 79 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes in its fleet, more than any other carrier, said Monday it’s assuming the planes will remain grounded through the end of January. The carrier is forecasting an adjusted loss of as much as 85 cents per share this quarter as a result. United CEO Scott Kirby on Tuesday expressed frustration at Boeing and its repeated production issues and delays. He said United is taking the larger variant, the 737 Max 10, out of its fleet plans, because of lengthy delivery delays. The FAA hasn’t yet certified that plane, nor has it certified the 737 Max 7, a smaller model that Southwest Airlines is awaiting. Boeing scrutiny The accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 is the latest and most serious in a string of apparent production flaws at Boeing, which has been trying to clean up a reputation for quality that was tarnished by two deadly crashes about five months apart. Those accidents involved the 737 Max 8, a smaller variant of the same aircraft family. A worldwide grounding of both the Max 8 and Max 9 began to lift about four years ago. Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci told NBC News on Tuesday that the door-plug blowout was “unacceptable out of the factory” and that the carrier is adding additional staff for oversight on the production line to make sure there is “a second set of eyes to look at those critical areas.” On Tuesday, Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing’s commercial airplane unit, its largest, apologized for the delays in getting its aircraft to customers. “We have let down our airline customers and are deeply sorry for the significant disruption to them, their employees and their passengers,” he said in a written statement. “We are taking action on a comprehensive plan to bring these airplanes safely back to service and to improve our quality and delivery performance.” Boeing is planning to pause work at several production lines for safety sessions for factory workers to “evaluate what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and make recommendations for improvement,” Deal told staff Tuesday. The sessions start Thursday at the 737 factory in Renton, Washington. Boeing announced Jan. 16 the appointment of an independent advisor to lead a review of the Max 9 problem. When asked whether the Max 9 crisis will mean more of a permanent change in how the FAA, which certifies Boeing’s planes, oversees the company, Whitaker said the agency is “looking at all options.” “If there are functions that Boeing has not done appropriately, I think we’ll look at whether we should take over some of those functions or whether there’s an opportunity for a third party, a nonprofit technical organization, to provide a fresh set of eyes,” he said. “There’s no reason to think that they can’t get back to a point where they’re meeting their quality standards and an increasing production,” Whitaker said. “But right now, we need to be assured of that.” https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/24/boeing-737-max-9-faa-chief-vows-boots-on-ground-to-get-quality-control.html Airbus opens first service centre dedicated to the entire lifecycle of an aircraft Chengdu (China), 24 January 2024 – The Airbus Lifecycle Services Centre (ALSC) has started its operations in Chengdu (China), offering solutions to manage the entire lifecycle of an aircraft. This centre is the first of its kind to cover, as a one-stop shop, the full range of activities from aircraft parking and storage to maintenance, upgrades, conversions, dismantling and recycling services for various aircraft types, as well as the controlled distribution of used parts from dismantling. The Airbus Lifecycle Services Centre in Chengdu is certified by both the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The Airbus Lifecycle Services Centre covers a surface area of 717,000 square metres and has a storage capacity of 125 aircraft. The site will progressively ramp up operations between now and 2025, directly employing up to 150 employees. The main buildings have obtained the LEED(1) (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for their construction, which is a first step to reduce the environmental impacts of operations at the ALSC site. “I’m glad to see the Airbus Lifecycle Services Centre enter into service in Chengdu,” said Cristina Aguilar, Airbus SVP Customer Services. “It echoes our purpose to pioneer sustainable aerospace and shows our approach to environmental responsibility across the entire aircraft lifecycle. Our service centre is a great example of Chinese-European cooperation in the development of the circular economy for the aviation industry.” The Airbus Lifecycle Services Centre unites under one roof a joint venture between Airbus, Tarmac Aerosave and the city of Chengdu, along with the Airbus company Satair. Tarmac Aerosave brings its more than 15 years of proven expertise in efficient aircraft storage, dismantling and recycling to the project. Located in the same centre, Airbus company Satair will acquire ageing aircraft and trade and distribute the used parts to complete the full scope of lifecycle services. 75 percent of the aircraft stored in the centre are expected to fly again after storage and upgrade by the joint venture. The remaining aircraft will be dismantled with the unique Tarmac Aerosave process, recovering around 90 percent of the aircraft weight. Note #1: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of “green buildings”, homes and neighbourhoods. The LEED certification program aims to help building owners and operators be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently. https://aircraft.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-01-airbus-opens-first-service-centre-dedicated-to-the-entire-lifecycle ISASI 2024 Call for Papers It is with great pleasure that the organising committee invites expressions of interest to present a paper at the ISASI 2024 seminar which will be held at the Marriott Hotel, Lisbon from 1 to 3 October 2024. Tutorial’s and the MASI meeting will take place on Wednesday 30 September 2024. Further details for the Call for Papers are available here: ISASI 2024 (esasi.eu) Further information on the tutorials, main programme, registration, and accommodation options will be provided in due course. We look forward to seeing you at ISASI 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) • SMU Air Law Symposium - March 21-22, 2024 ( Dallas, TX) • 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 • Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium - APATS 2024, 0-11 September, 2024, Singapore • • 2024 ISASI - Lisbon, Portugal - September 30 to October 4, 2024 • 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition - Oct. 22-24 (Vegas) Curt Lewis