Flight Safety Information - February 7, 2024 No. 028 In This Issue : Incident: Endeavor CRJ9 at Toronto on Feb 3rd 2024, electrical fire in cockpit : Incident: LATAM Brasil A319 at Sao Paulo on Feb 6th 2024, dropped main wheel : Incident: Lux DH8D near Munich on Feb 4th 2024, cracked windshield : Early Report on 737 Max Near Disaster Documents a Predicted Production Line Failure : Why Is the DOJ Treating Boeing With the Same Leniency It Gave Jeffrey Epstein? : Pilots Agree One Is The Loneliest Number, Want Two Flyers In The Cockpit : FAA head vows to hold Boeing accountable for any safety violations : Top U.S. aviation regulator says oversight of Boeing ‘is not delivering safe aircraft’ : Federal watchdog says Boeing door plug blowout likely involved missing bolts : Another accident like Boeing’s door plug blowout could happen again, NTSB chair says : JetBlue Officially Withdraws its Petition to Have KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Banned From New York JFK : British Airways Is Now Recruiting Newly Qualified Pilots : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: Endeavor CRJ9 at Toronto on Feb 3rd 2024, electrical fire in cockpit An Endeavor Air Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of Delta Airlines, registration N320PQ performing flight DL-4826 from Toronto,ON (Canada) to New York JFK,NY (USA) with 74 people on board, was climbing through about 11,000 feet out of Toronto's runway 06L when the crew donned their oxygen masks and declared Mayday Mayday reporting there were sparks in the cockpit, an electrical fire. The aircraft stopped the climb at 11,000 feet and returned to Toronto, the crew advised it appeared the fire was out, the captain's windshield heater had sparked up. The aircraft landed safely on Toronto's runway 06L about 25 minutes after departure. The aircraft remained on the ground in Toronto for about 49 hours before returning to service. https://avherald.com/h?article=5149eae7&opt=0 Incident: LATAM Brasil A319 at Sao Paulo on Feb 6th 2024, dropped main wheel A LATAM Brasil Airbus A319-100, registration PT-TMO performing flight LA-3923 from Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont,RJ to Sao Paulo Congonhas,SP (Brazil), was descending towards Sao Paulo when the crew decided to divert to Sao Paulo's Guarulhos Airport reporting a gear problem. The aircraft performed a low approach to Guarulhos' runway 10L, tower and other ground observers could not detect the inboard left main wheel, the outboard left main wheel as well as both right hand main wheels were in place. The aircraft positioned for another approach to runway 10L and landed without further incident. The airline reported the aircraft diverted to Guarulhos for corrective maintenance. https://avherald.com/h?article=5149e0fe&opt=0 Incident: Lux DH8D near Munich on Feb 4th 2024, cracked windshield A Luxair de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration LX-LQD performing flight LG-5682 from Ljubljana (Slovenia) to Luxembourg (Luxembourg), was enroute at FL240 about 80nm southeast of Munich (Germany) still in Austrian Airspace when the crew initiated a descent to FL070 reporting a cracked windshield. The aircraft diverted to Munich for a safe landing on runway 26L about 30 minutes later. The flight was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto other flights. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for about 31 hours, then positioned to Luxembourg and resumed service. https://avherald.com/h?article=5149cf56&opt=0 Early Report on 737 Max Near Disaster Documents a Predicted Production Line Failure By: Christine Negroni I’m all for the National Transportation Safety Board doing its job, and planning, of course, to dig into into the final report a year or two from now. But for any curious air traveler, engineering geek or disaster buff, what happened to Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 last month is no mystery. The report aligns quite neatly with a prediction more than a year ago on Ed Pierson’s podcast Warning Bells. The 737 Max production line in Renton, Washington was “chaos at its best”, according to Chris Lee, a retired Boeing mechanic and a guest on the podcast. As Boeing speeded up production of the Max, mechanics would sometimes be unable to finish sequential tasks before the next one began. This was problematic, according to Lee. But first, let’s have a look at what the NTSB’s preliminary report released late Tuesday has to say about what happened in the months before the Alaska 737 Max shed a chunk of the passenger cabin triggering the harrowing flight on January 5th. The fuselage that would become Alaska’s airplane arrived from Spirit Aerosystems in August 2023 with the door plug installed and rigged. However, on inspection, five damaged rivets were found on the frame in front of the plug. Look for the orange ribbons to the left of the circled numbers in the photo above. The repair involved the door plug because it had to be opened for the work to be done. So all four bolts holding the plug in position were removed. Once the repair was done, a photo was taken documenting the work and exchanged among Boeing team members via text. The blue circles in the photo below show where the bolts should be but were not installed. (The 4th attachment point is not visible due to the insulation in the left top corner.) The NTSB report does not mention if the blue circles were in the original text message. (That would be its own story.) So while waiting for clarification I’m assuming the NTSB added the circles to provide clarity. Following this, the insulation and walls were installed over the plug so that the hardware or lack of it was no longer visible. This is the documented order of events provided by the safety board. Now here is how former Boeing mechanic Lee predicted this very kind of event back in 2022 as a guest on the Warning Bells podcast. “A lot of times what would happen is there would be a problem at a certain area of the airplane that would get covered up,” while the mechanic waited for materials to arrive or engineering support. Lee and Pierson were talking about out-of-sequence work, the process of continuing with the build while waiting for something specific. Resolving Spirit Aerosystems bad rivets wasn’t exactly out of sequence, it was characterized as a non-conforming part. But whatever you call it, it played out just as Lee described in the out-of-sequence work scenario. The person doing the fix, would have to “remove panels or he’ll have to take apart another section of the airplane just so he can get to work where he needs to work and complete a job. And sometimes what happens is, when he puts whatever he has to remove back into place, it may not be in the original configuration. The screws may not be torqued down correctly. It’s a list of things that can go wrong.” The NTSB reports Spirit Aerosystems workers fixed the rivets and Boeing closed up wall, finishing it off with the photo that shows the bolts were not reinstalled. Investigators are continuing to track what documents authorized the opening and closing of the door. An earlier account posted to Leehamnews.com from a source familiar with the process who did not want to be identified noted that Boeing workers engaged in a series of texts which seemed to put the write-up decision into the context of what would trigger a quality assurance inspection. The person characterized the text exchange this way: “coordinating with the doors team to determine if the door will have to be removed entirely or just opened. If it is removed then a Removal will have to be written.” A removal, this person notes would require formal sign-off showing that the airplane has been restored to drawing requirements. Not everything this person mentioned in the post he left on the Leeham site has been confirmed, but a lot has. More to the point, there’s a distinction but no difference between opening the door and removing it in terms of safety. In both cases, the retaining bolts are removed. For several years Boeing had been engaged in a well-documented campaign to reduce quality control inspections. If this plays a role in Alaska 1282, the latest adventure in flying on the Max won’t be novel, but more of the same. https://christinenegroni.com/early-report-on-737-max-near-disaster-documents-a-predicted-production-line-failure/ Why Is the DOJ Treating Boeing With the Same Leniency It Gave Jeffrey Epstein? BY CHRISTINE NEGRONI You’ve probably seen the videos. You may have watched the first-person accounts posted on TikTok showing what it was like on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 when the door plug on a Boeing 737 Max blew out over Portland, Oregon. It will probably come as no surprise then that lawsuits are already being filed. Several travelers are suing Boeing for failing to ensure that the airplane was airworthy. Stockholders have filed a complaint alleging that Boeing misled them about the safety of its products. But a legal action that deserves attention both for its origin story and for the outsize impact it seeks to achieve is one that was filed in Texas years before things went awry on Flight 1282. Although Boeing is the subject of the case, the defendant is the Department of Justice. And these plaintiffs are not asking for money. Their goal is to make public the details of the crime committed by Boeing that led to the deaths of their loved ones on two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. The families have challenged a plea deal negotiated in secret between Boeing and federal prosecutors. They say Boeing needs to be put on trial so the public can hear all the facts about what is now the most notorious airliner of the 21st century. Suing the DOJ is a tactic Paul Cassell, a University of Utah law professor and one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, has used before, albeit in a very different kind of case. In 2008 the former federal judge represented the victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Cassell argued that the women who had been assaulted and trafficked by the now-deceased financier were denied their right to be consulted by the prosecutors about how the case would be handled. Under the federal Crime Victims’ Rights Act, prosecutors in both the Epstein and Boeing cases were obligated to keep the victims informed as the cases wound their way through the justice system, but that did not happen. The families learned of the agreements (called deferred prosecution agreements or nonprosecution agreements) after the fact. “How did this secret DPA get negotiated? What is it covering up? What is involved with these later accidents and incidents?” said Cassell. The Epstein and Boeing cases are similar in other ways. In exchange for acknowledging their crimes, Boeing and Epstein were able to avoid a trial and a prison sentence. Prosecutors limited the scope of the wrongdoing, in Epstein’s case, by granting blanket immunity to a nameless and numberless group of people who helped him sexually assault teenagers. In the Boeing DPA, prosecutors concluded that the plane-maker’s fraud was not pervasive across the organization, carried out by many employees, or facilitated by senior mismanagement. This was in contrast to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which described a “culture of concealment” at Boeing and did not confine Boeing’s crimes to a limited few. The conclusion of prosecutors also defied logic, according to Jesse Eisinger, author of The Chickenshit Club, which examines the two-decade-long trend toward resolving corporate crimes with negotiated agreements. “The idea underlying the DPA is that the FAA and the DOJ were inside this company, really examining what went wrong. But there were two crashes of this new glitzy plane, which were so serious that they needed to ground the plane because they were so concerned about safety,” Eisinger said. “Given that, the notion that fraud wasn’t widespread or pervasive, and management was completely absolved here, was prosecutorial malpractice,” he said. “There’s no way to describe it any other way.” Boeing’s DPA was signed on Jan. 6, 2021, in the waning days of the Trump administration. It was set to expire in three years. That turned out to be just days after the latest accident involving the Alaska flight. With the term of the DPA expired, the Justice Department has six months to decide if Boeing abided by the terms of the agreement and earned the right to have the felony fraud charge against it dismissed. DOJ spokesman Joshua Stueve declined to answer questions about what the department was planning to do next. As hard as it might be now to imagine a future without Boeing making news every single day, by summer it is entirely possible that the flying public may have moved the 737 Max to the part of the brain that archives, then overwrites “scary stuff heard, read, or seen.” And while this would take the Justice Department’s deal with Boeing out from under the magnifying glass presently focused on the plane-maker, it won’t end the challenge brought by the families. Quite the opposite. A panel of judges in Texas ruled in December that the 737 Max victims are welcome to challenge the prosecutor’s next steps because when it comes to protecting victims’ rights, the law is clear. A judge “has an ongoing obligation to uphold the public interest” and apply the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. “That is particularly true,” judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit wrote, if the ultimate outcome sought by prosecutors means “no company, and no executive and no employee, ends up convicted of any crime.” Last summer, Boeing attorney Paul Clement argued that Boeing’s deal with the government could not be set aside by a judge. To do so, he said, would be a “complete mismatch between a procedural violation” and “forcing the government to go through with the prosecution.” Clement indicated that if that happened, Boeing would likely appeal. The Max families have often expressed frustration at being excluded from a process in which they had such a compelling emotional stake. But when the third Max came close to disaster last month, the father of a man who died on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 suggested that other air travelers have a stake as well. “The U.S. Justice Department now has ample reason not to dismiss the fraud charge at the heart of the corrupt Deferred Prosecution Agreement it reached with Boeing,” Mark Pegram, whose son Sam was killed, said in a statement released to the press. “The lives of passengers should not needlessly, and once again, be put at risk.” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/02/doj-boeing-jeffrey-epstein-super-max-crash.html Pilots Agree One Is The Loneliest Number, Want Two Flyers In The Cockpit A Dutch pilots union says the move to have just one pilot wouldn't be in the interest of safety. As it turns out, pilots are also not on board with the idea of just one of them being in the cockpit during a flight. To show their displeasure, airline pilots at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands handed out flyers to raise awareness for plans to allow flights with just one pilot on the flight deck. The pilots said the move to only have one flyer is a “worrisome development in aviation,” according to the NL Times, a Netherlands-based news outlet. The pilots referenced plans by Airbus (the damn French) to implement technology that’ll be used to replace the second pilot in the cockpit at any given moment. Airbus says this is a safety measure, but NVN, a Dutch pilots’ union, said it hasn’t been proven that this tech would actually improve safety. They argue that it’s essential to have two pilots working together in the cockpit. This is not a surprising take from a union. Here’s what they said, from NL Times: “International studies and practice show that humans are the essential factor for high safety standards in aviation. For example, a system lacks creativity, resilience, leadership, teamwork and survival instinct,” the pilots’ association argued. “We support new technology that benefits safety. Two pilots working together with that technology take safety to a higher level.” In addition to aircraft manufacturers, the European aviation authority EASA also appears to think such a change has potential, according to VNV. The union noted that the regulator already indicated last year that it would consider allowing flights on a limited scale in 2027 where aircraft are flown by one pilot. VNV asked the aviation companies “not to gamble with safety and to stop replacing a pilot with unproven technology.” The labor union made this appeal together with other international pilot associations. The Dutch union also wants an independent and scientific investigation into the plans. This should focus on the “medical and psychological implications,” but also on the costs and benefits of removing a pilot from the cockpit. It should be noted that EASA said it was “absolutely unrealistic” for all aircraft to be manned by just a single pilot by the end of the decade because of the degree to which it expects automation to advance in the coming years. Listen, I know planes are very good at flying themselves and landing without much issue, but I really would like to see two folks up in the cockpit. Maybe it’s just me. I don’t know. https://jalopnik.com/pilots-agree-one-is-the-loneliest-number-want-two-flye-1851230428 FAA head vows to hold Boeing accountable for any safety violations The head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told lawmakers on Tuesday he will use any authority available to him to hold Boeing accountable for any noncompliance that contributed to last month's 737 Max 9 accident during an Alaska Airlines flight. Why it matters: FAA administrator Michael Whitaker told the House subcommittee on aviation that the agency will not grant Boeing any additional manufacturing expansions for the Max until it's resolved quality control issues. Whitaker reiterated the FAA's plan to increase oversight on Boeing after the door plug incident, saying it will have "boots on the ground closely scrutinizing and monitoring production and manufacturing activities." Catch up fast: On Jan. 5, one of Alaska Airlines' Boeing 737 Max 9 planes lost its exit door plug midflight. The near disaster renewed scrutiny on Boeing over malfunctions with the 737 Max 9 jets, which were at the center of two fatal crashes — one in 2018 and another in 2019 — that killed 346 people. The door plug incident led to another grounding of Max 9s in U.S. territory. The grounding was later lifted and most of the aircraft have returned to service following an inspection process. The inspection process completed by airlines revealed quality control issues with the Max 9s, including loose bolts. What they're saying: Whitaker said around two dozen FAA inspectors have been sent to Boeing facilities and around a half dozen are at Spirit AeroSystems facilities. Whitaker encouraged Boeing workers to use the FAA's confidential hotline to report safety concerns. The big picture: The Senate confirmed Whitaker as FAA administrator late last year. Before Whitaker assumed the role, the agency was without a leader for over a year amid a series of close calls and widespread public frustrations over flight delays and cancellations. Whitaker also faced questions Tuesday over recent near misses at several U.S. airports caused by runway incursions, the rate of which fell last year. The Flight Safety Foundation in December called incursions "the most persistent threats to aviation safety" and warned that the likelihood of incursions is expected to increase as air traffic grows. To address the near misses, Whitaker said the FAA has started using new data analytics and runway designs, as well as more training for air traffic controllers. What's next: The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to release its preliminary report on the Alaska Airlines incident soon. https://www.axios.com/2024/02/06/faa-whitaker-boeing-737-max-9 Top U.S. aviation regulator says oversight of Boeing ‘is not delivering safe aircraft’ The new chief of the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that his agency is midway through a review of manufacturing at Boeing, but he already knows that changes must be made in how the government oversees the aircraft manufacturer. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker suggested that Boeing BA, +0.94% — under pressure from airlines to produce large numbers of planes — is not paying enough attention to safety. Whitaker said that the FAA has had two challenges since Jan. 5, when an emergency-door panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner over Oregon. “One, what is wrong with this airplane? But two, what’s going on with the production at Boeing?” Whitaker told a House subcommittee. “There have been issues in the past. They don’t seem to be getting resolved, so we feel like we need to have a heightened level of oversight.” Whitaker, who took over the FAA about three months ago, was making his first appearance on Capitol Hill since the blowout over Oregon. Separately, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to release a preliminary report on last month’s incident as early as Tuesday. Whitaker’s testimony before a House Transportation subcommittee was wide-ranging. Leaders of the panel had spelled out questions they wanted answered, but few lawmakers stuck to the script — they asked about everything from the Max 9 incident, to raising the retirement age for pilots, to migrants being housed at airports. Whitaker said the FAA is halfway through a six-week audit that has involved placing “about two dozen” inspectors in Boeing’s 737 plant in Renton, Wash., and “maybe half a dozen” at a Wichita, Kan., plant where supplier Spirit AeroSystems SPR, +4.98% makes the fuselages for 737s. The inspectors are looking for gaps in the quality of work during the manufacturing process that might have contributed to a door plug blowing off an Alaska Airlines ALK, +2.01% Max 9 at 16,000 feet over Oregon. Whitaker said he expects the FAA will keep people in the Boeing and Spirit factories after the audit is done, but he said the numbers haven’t been determined. For many years, the FAA has relied on employees of aircraft manufacturers to perform some safety-related work on planes being built by their companies. That saves money for the government, and in theory taps the expertise of industry employees — but it was criticized after two deadly crashes involving Boeing Max 8 planes in 2018 and 2019. “In order to have a truly safe system, it seems to me that we can’t rely on the manufacturers themselves to be their own watchdogs,” Rep. Colin Allred, a Texas Democrat, said during Tuesday’s hearing. Whitaker has said that the self-checking practice — in theory, overseen by FAA inspectors — should be reconsidered, but he again stopped short of saying it should be scrapped. But he said closer monitoring of Boeing is needed. “The current system is not working because it is not delivering safe aircraft,” Whitaker said. “Maybe we need to look at the incentives to make sure safety is getting the appropriate first rung of consideration that it deserves.” No Boeing representatives were scheduled to testify. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Whitaker’s remarks. Boeing and the FAA have been under renewed scrutiny since last month’s incident on an Alaska Airlines Max 9. Criticism of both the company and its regulator go back to deadly Max 8 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people. Whitaker vowed that the FAA will “take appropriate and necessary action” to keep the flying public safe. After the incident on the Alaska Airlines jet, the FAA grounded most Max 9s for three weeks until it approved a process for inspecting panels called door plugs. The FAA also said it won’t let Boeing increase the production rate of new Max jets until it is satisfied with the company’s safety procedures. On Sunday, Boeing, which is based in Arlington, Va., disclosed that improperly drilled holes in window frames will require the company to rework about 50 planes before they can be delivered to airline customers. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/top-u-s-aviation-regulator-says-oversight-of-boeing-is-not-delivering-safe-aircraft-6d4d8640 Federal watchdog says Boeing door plug blowout likely involved missing bolts Missing bolts likely contributed to an emergency blowout aboard a Boeing 737 MAX 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight last month, according to the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) preliminary findings on the incident released on Tuesday. Why it matters: The findings shed light on the near catastrophe that's reignited scrutiny on Boeing and its 737 MAX jets, which were previously involved in two crashes that killed 346 people. The crashes, one in 2018 and another in 2019, led to the resignation of top Boeing executives, a criminal investigation and a massive financial hit for one the largest aerospace manufacturers in the world. Alaska Airlines flight 1282 suffered an in-flight emergency on Jan. 5 after a door plug in the airline's Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet was torn from the vehicle's fuselage. Catch up fast: Passengers and crew were unharmed, but the near disaster prompted the FAA to order operators to ground and inspect all 737 MAX 9 jets. Most of the jets have returned to service, but the inspections revealed quality control issues, such as loose bolts. Details: The NTSB said four bolts are normally used to prevent the 737 MAX's mid-exit door plug from moving vertically while flying. In the case of the 737 MAX involved in the Alaska Airlines incident, it said a damage assessment indicated "that the four bolts that prevent upward movement of the [mid exit door] plug were missing." The board said records show the plane went under repairs to replace damaged rivets near the left exit door that blew off during the accident. To complete the repairs, workers had to remove bolts and open the affected door plug. Photos of the door plug provided by Boeing after the repairs were completed in September 2023 showed evidence that the plug was reclosed "with no retention hardware (bolts) in the three visible locations," it said. It's unclear if the fourth bolt was also missing when the photo was taken, as its location was covered by insulation. The NTSB said the rivet repairs were carried out by workers from Spirit AeroSystems, which produces the fuselage for the MAX jets. However, it's unclear if Boeing or Spirit AeroSystems personnel were responsible for opening and reclosing the door plug. The NTSB report doesn't indicate which company is at fault for the malfunction, though it notes an investigation is ongoing to determine which reclosed the door plug. What they're saying: Regardless of the NTSB's ultimate findings, Boeing is accountable for what happened, its president and CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement after the preliminary report was released. "An event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory. We simply must do better for our customers and their passengers," Calhoun said. He said the company has implemented a new plan to improve quality control throughout the 737 production process, including adding more inspections further into the supply chain and bringing in independent aircraft assessments. Worth noting: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) administrator Michael Whitaker vowed before a House subcommittee on Tuesday that he would hold Boeing accountable for any noncompliance that contributed to the Alaska Airlines incident. Because of the midflight blowout, Boeing is again facing regulatory and legal repercussions over 737 MAX malfunctions just as the company was attempting to revive its reputation and quell safety concerns. The big picture: After the blowout, the FAA said it would begin on-site inspections of Boeing facilities as part of an audit of the MAX production line to ensure the company is complying with quality procedures. The inspections would also apply to Spirit AeroSystems facilities. Whitaker also said Tuesday the agency would not give Boeing additional manufacturing expansions for the MAX until quality control concerns are resolved. https://www.axios.com/2024/02/06/boeing-737-max-alaska-airlines-blowout-ntsb-report Another accident like Boeing’s door plug blowout could happen again, NTSB chair says Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, says that the problem that resulted in a door plug blowing out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet minutes into a January 5 flight could happen again. “Of course, something like this can happen again,” she told CNN’s Poppy Harlow on CNN This Morning Wednesday, although she added, “This is the reason the NTSB exists to ensure this never happens again.” Her comments came a day after a preliminary report on the investigation of Alaska Airlines’ blowout incident revealed that evidence points to the four bolts needed to hold the door plug in place were missing. “There is no way that this plane should have been delivered with four safety critical bolts missing,” she said. “There’s a problem in the process.” Despite her harsh assessment of this incident, Homendy said she wouldn’t hesitate flying on a 737 Max 9 herself. “Absolutely. They have been inspected, thoroughly, I believe,” she said. “I would have no problem tomorrow taking a flight on a Max 9.” On Tuesday, Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Whitaker testified before Congress that the agency he has been running since October has been depending too much on aircraft makers like Boeing to regulate themselves. “The current system is not working ‘cause it’s not delivering safe aircraft,” he said Tuesday. “So we have to make some changes to that.” Homendy said that the NTSB is also looking at changes that need to be made at the FAA. “I absolutely agree that it needs to change,” she said. “There’s a problem in the process. We’re not just digging into what’s going on at Boeing. We’re also digging to FAA’s oversight of Boeing as well. I’m very encouraged by the administrator’s comments.” She said that the string of quality problems at Boeing suggests there is a problem there that goes beyond the plane in the Alaska Airlines incident. “I think there is a quality control problem,” she said. “That’s exactly what we’re digging in on right now… to see where there are deficiencies to make sure this doesn’t reoccur.” https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/07/business/ntsb-chair-boeing-accident-could-happen-again/index.html JetBlue Officially Withdraws its Petition to Have KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Banned From New York JFK JetBlue has asked the US Department of Transportation to strike out its petition to have Dutch flag carrier KLM banned from flying to New York JFK in response to a controversial plan drawn up by the government in the Netherlands to reduce aircraft noise pollution at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The so-called ‘experimental legislation’ proposed by Dutch lawmakers to improve the quality of life for thousands of local residents around Schiphol Airport would have slashed the number of flights allowed to takeoff and land at what is one of Europe’s busiest hub airports. If the law had gone ahead, JetBlue would have lost its right to fly to Amsterdam, but the Dutch government abandoned the plans after an extraordinary intervention by senior US officials who warned the Hague that the legislation would have breached the European Open Skies agreement with the United States. During a meeting with Dutch lawmakers, DOT officials made it known that it was considering a request by JetBlue to slap KLM Royal Dutch Airlines with a tit-for-tat flight ban that would have barred the carrier from operating flights between Amsterdam and JetBlue’s home at New York JFK. In a letter to the DOT sent on Tuesday, JetBlue’s senior counsel wrote: “JetBlue is grateful to the Department for its extraordinary efforts to ensure U.S. flag carriers are not subjected to unjustifiable and unreasonable access restrictions at AMS,” the airline said in a letter sent to the DOT on Tuesday. “JetBlue urges the Department to maintain vigilance for whenever a U.S. aviation partner – especially an Open Skies partner – threatens measures that deny U.S. flag carriers their exercise of rights to which they are entitled by an underlying air transport agreement,” the letter continued. “Such leadership by the Department is crucial to fostering opportunities for expanded international flying by U.S. flag carriers, including JetBlue’s plans for adding more destinations to its route network, and encouraging a competitive and healthy aviation industry”. The experimental legislation would have capped flight movements at Schiphol to just 460,000 per year, although the airline operator announced late last year that it would only have the capacity to handle an additional 23,000 flight movements in 2024 and has asked airlines to reduce flights at peak times. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2024/02/07/jetblue-officially-withdraws-its-petition-to-have-klm-royal-dutch-airlines-banned-from-new-york-jfk/ British Airways Is Now Recruiting Newly Qualified Pilots A career pathway for the next generation of pilots. SUMMARY • British Airways is opening its NQPP program for newly qualified pilots, allowing them to start their careers with the airline. • The program is available to pilots who have trained under a modular or integrated course at any ATO and meet certain criteria. • BA is actively seeking the next generation of pilots through initiatives like the Speedbird Pilot Academy and offers apprenticeship opportunities in various departments. • British Airways has opened its newly qualified pilot pathway (NQPP) program that will allow new commercial pilots to start their careers with the British flag carrier. BA open to newly qualified pilots Typically, the path to flying for a carrier like British Airways would involve years of experience at a smaller airline. However, as reported by Flight Training News, the airline is reopening its NQPP program, which will be available to newly qualified pilots trained under a modular or integrated course at any ATO. Candidates must meet the following criteria: 85% ground school average with no more than three resits First-series CPL & IR pass (Series 1, Attempt 1 or Series 1, Attempt 2) APS MCC (Airline Pilot Standards Multi Crew Cooperation) Attended no more than three training providers for the following phases of training: Ground School, CPL/IR and APS MCC To hold a UK CAA Class 1 medical and meet British Airways medical criteria According to British Airways, "This is a key time to be joining British Airways as we Build a Better BA. We take huge pride in our past, but we are looking to the future as an airline that loves embracing the best of modern Britain. Our country’s creativity, diversity, style, and warmth are the same special qualities that make us who we are." The airline opened its NQPP program last summer too - at the same time, it launched its 'Whitetail' recruitment initiative that gives trainee pilots a pathway into the company. If successful, pilots would start their careers flying Airbus A320s at BA Euroflyer. You can only apply for one airline (British Airways, BA Cityflyer, BA Euroflyer) at a time. BA has taken a proactive approach to finding the next generation of pilots with initiatives such as its Speedbird Pilot Academy, which supports up to 60 young candidates annually by covering the £100,000 training costs and providing accommodation and food. It has also been diligent in finding talent to staff other departments. During National Apprenticeship Week 2024, around 40 of the airline's apprentices were deployed at London Heathrow to support a busy BA flight to Cape Town. The apprentices performed various roles, such as check-in, boarding, dispatch, cabin crew, and baggage handling, to give them real-life job experience. "This landmark flight demonstrates the integral role apprentices play in our workforce and the opportunities available to those who join British Airways on one of our schemes. Our talented apprentices bring a fresh perspective to our airline, and their ideas and enthusiasm will help propel us into the future." The carrier's apprentice scheme has been going for 13 years, offering up to 290 positions each year for young, rising talent. It saw a huge 75% increase in applications last year, with 4,500 applicants compared to 2,562 in 2022. https://simpleflying.com/british-airways-recruiting-newly-qualified-pilots/ 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 • Blazetech - Aircraft Fire Hazards, Protection, and Investigation Course June 4 - 7, 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