Flight Safety Information - March 7, 2024 No. 049 In This Issue : Accident: Saudia B78X at London on Mar 3rd 2024, bird strike : Incident: PIA B773 near Muscat on Mar 6th 2024, engine trouble : Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 17 & 18 September - London : Incident: United B753 over Pacific on Mar 4th 2024, engine shut down in flight : Incident: CAA A332 at Goma on Mar 5th 2024, rejected takeoff due to bird strike : Airbus A321-131 - Power Bank Damage (Portugal) : Boeing is withholding key details about door plug on Alaska 737 Max 9 jet, NTSB says : NTSB Chair Not Pleased With Boeing’s Cooperation On Door Plug Probe : Boeing Faces Intense Scrutiny Over Safety and Documentation Lapses : Smugglers tamper with aircraft wiring to conceal 4.5kg gold bars : Alaska Airlines plane returns to PDX after passengers smell ‘fumes’ in cabin : United flight returns to airport after engine catches fire shortly after takeoff : IATA: Banner Year For Commercial Aviation Safety : Calling All Women—FAA Grants $13.5 Million To Fix Aviation Skills Gap : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Accident: Saudia B78X at London on Mar 3rd 2024, bird strike A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 787-10, registration HZ-AR33 performing flight SV-109 from Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), departed Jeddah's runway 34R, climbed to FL360 and later FL380 and landed on Heathrow's runway 27R about 6:20 hours later completing a seemingly uneventful flight. A post flight inspection revealed a large hole in the leading edge of the left wing's slats as result of a bird strike. The aircraft is still on the ground in London about 76 hours (3 days 4 hours) after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=515cf23c&opt=0 Incident: PIA B773 near Muscat on Mar 6th 2024, engine trouble A PIA Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration AP-BHV performing flight PK-714 from Madinah (Saudi Arabia) to Islamabad (Pakistan), was enroute at FL350 and initiating a step climb about 70nm northeast of Muscat (Oman) when the crew began to descend the aircraft again due to an engine (GE90) problem. The aircraft subsequently turned around and diverted to Muscat for a safe landing on runway 26R about 55 minutes after stopping the step climb. The aircraft is still on the ground in Muscat about 9 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=515cedf8&opt=0 Incident: United B753 over Pacific on Mar 4th 2024, engine shut down in flight A United Boeing 757-300, registration N57869 performing flight UA-214 from Honolulu,HI to San Francisco,CA (USA), was enroute at FL330 over the Pacific Ocean about 270nm west of San Francisco when the crew declared emergency reporting their right hand engine was shut down. The aircraft drifted down to FL250 and continued for a safe landing on San Francisco's runway 28R about 50 minutes after leaving FL330. The aircraft vacated the runway and was inspected by emergency services, who recommended to taxi to the apron with emergency services remaining in attendance. The aircraft is still on the ground in San Francisco about 36 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=515cd039&opt=0 Incident: CAA A332 at Goma on Mar 5th 2024, rejected takeoff due to bird strike A CAA Compagnie Africaine Aviation Airbus A330-200, registration 9S-ASJ performing flight BU-1222 from Goma to Kinshasa N'djili (DR Congo), was accelerating for takeoff from Goma's runway 35 when one of the engines (Trent 772) ingested a bird and failed prompting the crew to reject takeoff at high speed. The aircraft slowed safely and stopped at the end of the runway. After a check by emergency services the aircraft taxied back to the apron. The flight was cancelled. The aircraft is still on the ground in Goma. https://avherald.com/h?article=515cc361&opt=0 Airbus A321-131 - Power Bank Damage (Portugal) Date: Wednesday 6 March 2024 Time: 16:30 Type: Airbus A321-131 Owner/operator: Lufthansa Registration: D-AIRX MSN: 0887 Engine model: IAE V2530-A5 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 140 Aircraft damage: None Location: Oporto - Portugal Phase: En route Nature: Passenger - Scheduled Departure airport: Frankfurt International Airport (FRA/EDDF) Destination airport: Porto-Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO/LPPR) Confidence Rating: Little or no information is available Narrative: An onboard incident occurred on Lufthansa flight LH1178, aircraft D-AIRX involving a passenger's power bank. The power bank expanded and broke apart mid flight, prompting the crew to take action for safety reasons. Captain contacted local staff at Oporto and requested assistance of the fire brigade for safety measures. Upon arrival, fire fighters took possession of the power bank, secured it, and transported it for safe storage and disposal. There was no fire or harmed customers or crew. https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/352279 Boeing is withholding key details about door plug on Alaska 737 Max 9 jet, NTSB says WASHINGTON — More than two months after a door plug panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet in midair, the top federal safety investigator says Boeing still has not provided key information that could shed light on what went wrong. National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy told the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday that Boeing has not revealed who was responsible for failing to reattach the door plug properly at the company's factory near Seattle. "It's absurd that two months later, we don't have that," Homendy said. The NTSB said in its preliminary report last month that four key bolts which are supposed to hold the door plug in place were missing when the plane left Boeing's factory last year. The report found the door plug was opened to allow for repair work on misdrilled rivets on the fuselage while the plane was being assembled. Why problems at a key Boeing supplier may help explain the company's 737 Max 9 mess But Homendy says the NTSB is still unable to determine who opened and closed the door plug. "Boeing has not provided us with documents and information we have requested numerous times," Homendy told the committee. "Are you telling us that even two months later you still do not know who actually opened the door plug?," asked Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the committee's ranking member. "That's correct, Senator. We don't know," Homendy replied. "And it's not for lack of trying." After looking through emails and text messages, Homendy said investigators believe the work on the door plug took place on two days in mid-September. The NTSB has asked Boeing to provide documentation of when it was performed and by whom, Homendy said. But Boeing has told investigators that "they can't find it," she said. Investigators have also been seeking the names of the 25 Boeing employees who are part of the team that opens and closes door plugs. But so far, Homendy says the plane-maker has not provided those names. A Boeing spokesman disputed Homendy's account in an emailed statement to NPR. "Since the first moments following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident, we have worked proactively and transparently to fully support the NTSB's investigation," said Boeing's Connor Greenwood. "Early in the investigation, we provided the NTSB with names of Boeing employees, including door specialists, who we believed would have relevant information. We have now provided the full list of individuals on the 737 door team, in response to a recent request," Greenwood said. Mounting frustration with the company seemed to cross party lines at Wednesday's hearing. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the committee's chair, called Boeing's lack of cooperation "beyond disappointing." Senator Cruz called the company's response to investigators "unacceptable." He asked the NTSB to report back in a week to say whether Boeing had agreed to share the names and documents that investigator's requested. The senators on this committee have not forgotten how Boeing initially deflected responsibility after two 737 Max 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people. FAA audit faults Boeing for 'multiple instances' of quality control shortcomings It's possible that the records the NTSB is seeking now do not exist, Homendy said. If they don't, that would raise serious questions about the company's quality control practices, she said. "We have been informed that they have a procedure to maintain documents on when work is performed and including when door plugs are open, closed or removed," she said. "We have not been able to verify that. And without that information, that raises concerns about quality assurance, quality management, safety management systems within Boeing." Boeing also acknowledged the possibility that the documents the NTSB is seeking may not exist. "If the door plug removal was undocumented there would be no documentation to share," Greenwood said in his statement. "We will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the NTSB's investigation." Regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration are also concerned about what they've called "systemic quality-control issues" at Boeing and its suppliers. They've given the company until late May to come up with a plan to address those problems. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/06/1236277058/boeing-737-max-9-alaska-airlines-door-plug-removed-ntsb-commerce-cantwell-cruz NTSB Chair Not Pleased With Boeing’s Cooperation On Door Plug Probe NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy was not smiling when she testified before the Senate on Boeing's lack of response to requests for information. National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy angrily testified today (March 6) during a Senate hearing that “Boeing has not provided us with the documents and information that we have requested numerous times over the past few months.” She referred to the NTSB investigation into the in-flight departure of a door plug from an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX airliner. As reported in the Seattle Times, the NTSB investigation has revealed that a team of Boeing workers who specialize in servicing the door plugs on the assembly line in Seattle were assigned to enable three visiting contract workers engaged by Spirit Aerosystems to access and repair faulty rivets in the door plug area. When the plug was replaced after the rivet work was done, the Boeing team left out four critical bolts, causing the door to eventually work free and depart from the aircraft during a passenger flight at 16,000 feet. Homendy criticized Boeing during the hearing for not providing documentation of the work that the Boeing team performed and also complained of a lack of cooperation in enabling the NTSB to interview members of the team and the manager of the crew. Homendy said, “The manager has been out on medical leave, we’ve not been able to interview that individual. We’ve asked for the names of the other 25 people, have not received the names. “We don’t have the records. We don’t have the names of the 25 people. It’s absurd that two months later, we don’t have that.” Boeing responded today that the work on the door plug might not have been recorded. “With respect to documentation, if the door plug removal was undocumented there would be no documentation to share.” In a statement immediately following the Senate hearing, Boeing wrote: “We have now provided the full list of individuals on the 737 door team, in response to a recent request.” Further cooperation by those involved could be hampered by an ongoing criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the incident. Boeing or Spirit AeroSystems workers could refuse to talk openly to the NTSB out of concern over possible self-incrimination. Homendy said, “Where it becomes a concern for us is when employees and others don’t feel safe to speak with us.” https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/ntsb-chair-not-pleased-with-boeings-cooperation-on-door-plug-probe/?MailingID=FLY240306016&utm_campaign=avwebflash&utm_medium=newsletter&oly_enc_id=1249F2849412G8V Boeing Faces Intense Scrutiny Over Safety and Documentation Lapses In the wake of a concerning incident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, Boeing finds itself under the rigorous gaze of both the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Questions about aviation safety and documentation standards have surged, following the detachment of a door frame on the aircraft, spotlighting potential oversights in Boeing's compliance with critical repair documentation. This event has not only rattled the nerves of passengers but also ignited a thorough examination of Boeing's adherence to the strict regulations that govern air travel, a domain where precision and transparency are paramount. A Riveting Inquiry The incident that set off alarms occurred on January 5, when passengers aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 were met with an unexpected mid-air scare as a door plug blew off. This alarming episode prompted an immediate investigation, revealing a startling lack of documentation for the door assembly work carried out at Boeing's Renton, Washington facility. The NTSB's Chair Jennifer Homendy voiced concerns over Boeing's initial reluctance to provide a complete list of employees involved in the door assembly, a critical factor in understanding the absence of bolts on the aircraft's mid-exit door plug. This lapse in documentation raises red flags about the aircraft's airworthiness and Boeing's compliance with regulatory record-keeping requirements. Quality Control in Question Further complicating Boeing's situation, a six-week audit by the FAA of both Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems unearthed multiple instances of alleged non-compliance with manufacturing quality control requirements. Such findings cast a long shadow over Boeing's quality assurance processes, prompting demands for a comprehensive corrective action plan from the aviation giant. Amidst growing scrutiny, Boeing's response to the Senate Committee's inquiries and the NTSB's requests for information has been criticized as insufficient and delayed, with the company's assertion that undocumented repair work equates to non-existent documentation directly clashing with aviation manufacturing standards. Regulatory Repercussions and Future Flight The FAA's audit, revealed by official announcements, has halted Boeing 737 MAX production expansion and initiated third-party reviews of quality systems. All 737 9 MAX aircraft with door plugs have been grounded pending FAA review, underscoring the severity of the concerns and the importance of stringent oversight in manufacturing practices. As Boeing grapples with these challenges, the aviation community and the flying public watch closely, hoping for resolutions that reinforce safety and integrity in air travel. The planned comprehensive investigative hearing with testimony from Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems will be a crucial junction for addressing these concerns and charting a course toward improved safety and compliance protocols. https://medriva.com/news/boeing-faces-intense-scrutiny-over-safety-and-documentation-lapses Smugglers tamper with aircraft wiring to conceal 4.5kg gold bars Gold smugglers tamper with Indigo aircraft wiring, concealing 4.5kg of gold with a padlock and code lock. Authorities find the rectangular gold bars covered in black adhesive tape in the lavatory's electrical box. Smugglers might have had insider knowledge and the gold may have been destined for Hyderabad. There was a cable inside, a heavy package attached to it, secured with a padlock CHENNAI: Taking gold smuggling to a new and dangerous high, trained culprits interfered with the very wiring of an Indigo aircraft by accessing the line through the toilet roof and concealing 4.5kg gold by tethering it on wires and then fixing a three-digit number code lock at the end. The rectangular gold bars, with a hole in the middle, were found secured to a padlock, a wire running through it. Aircraft "The fact that the smuggler(s) opened the aircraft part effortlessly means they know how stuff works in the aircraft and had the knack of concealing it using specific tools," said a seasoned pilot, who did not wish to be named. Asked if it endangered passenger safety, he said aircraft are designed in such a way that no crucial elements could be accessed from the lavatory, as it would lead to sabotage. "There will be basic electricity wires for lighting, fan and smoke sensor in the lavatory," said the pilot. But he says it cannot be accessed so easily and requires special tools. The smuggling bid came to light when workers sanitising the plane found the electrical box in the lavatory tampered with. The Indigo plane had come from Abu Dhabi on Thursday night and was scheduled to fly to Hyderabad in a few minutes as a domestic flight. On information, safety officers prised open the electric box and found a cable stuck with other electric wires and hanging with a heavy package secured with a padlock in the loose end. Authorities had to cut the cable and break open the padlock to retrieve three rectangular gold bars covered in black adhesive tape. Nevertheless, authorities have taken a serious note of the new method adopted by gold smugglers and initiated an inquiry into the incident. "Smugglers resort to extreme methods to evade suspicion of enforcement agencies and the person who carried the gold must have trained well beforehand to hide gold in the cabin mid-flight," said a customs official. Customs officials, who seized the gold bars, suspect that smugglers might have engaged a ground staffer at Chennai airport to extract the consignment and hand it over to them or that it might have been destined to Hyderabad. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/smugglers-tamper-with-aircraft-wiring-to-conceal-4-5kg-gold-bars/articleshow/108250784.cms Alaska Airlines plane returns to PDX after passengers smell ‘fumes’ in cabin PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - An Alaska Airlines aircraft turned back to Portland International Airport shortly after takeoff Wednesday due to potential fumes in the cabin, according to a spokesperson for Port of Portland. A spokesperson with Alaska Airlines said the crew from flight 646 from Portland to Phoenix declared an emergency after reports of the odor. They said the flight landed safely at around 6:45 p.m. According to a spokesperson with Portland Fire & Rescue, passengers in the rear of the plane reported smelling “some fumes or an odor.” Boeing and the NTSB argued Wednesday whether the company has cooperated with investigators looking into the blowout of a door-plug on one of its planes Jan. 7. Firefighters inspected the aircraft and used thermal imaging to check for fires or other possible hazards, but did not find any danger. According to the Port of Portland spokesperson, seven people including both travelers and crew requested medical evaluation by fire crews, but no injuries have been reported as of 7:30 p.m. the Port of Portland spokesperson said firefighters did not find any fire or immediate sources of danger. Travelers passing through PDX on Wednesday said they were on high alert after seeing emergency crews attending to an Alaska Airlines airplane. “I’m departing from here to Redmond, and we got diverted to B because of what was going on in C concourse,” said Randy Panek, a traveler. People who were on a different Alaska Airlines flight connecting through Portland around the same time said this incident did not cause any delays to their next flight. Alaska Airlines sent FOX 12 a statement that said they apologize for the inconvenience and the airplane in question is being inspected by its maintenance team. Tuesday marked two months since an Alaska Airlines flight was forced to return to PDX after a door plug blew out mid-flight. https://www.kptv.com/2024/03/07/alaska-airlines-plane-returns-pdx-after-passengers-smell-fumes-cabin/ United flight returns to airport after engine catches fire shortly after takeoff HOUSTON (AP) - A United flight from Houston to Fort Myers, Florida, was forced turn around Monday after one of the plane’s engines caught fire. Several of the 167 passengers aboard the Boeing 737 took video showing a line of flames shooting out of the engine, KTRK-TV reported. “I remember there was just this bright, flashing light that came through the window, and it sounded like a bomb went off, and then it was just a strobe of fire out the window,” said David Gruninger, who was on the connecting flight home to Florida with 15 of his friends after attending a wedding in Mexico. FlightAware shows Flight 1118 taking off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 6:40 p.m. It turned around at 6:52 p.m. “It was our left engine, our number one engine, that was surging when we were climbing through about 10,000 (feet), and flight attendants saw momentary flames back there,” a pilot can be heard saying on radio transmissions. The plane landed back at Bush Airport at 7:13 p.m., just 33 minutes after takeoff. “It was a very turbulent ride back, and it was a pretty harsh landing,” Gruninger told KTRK. “This is something I’ll remember every time I get on a flight now.” United flew its passengers to Fort Myers a few hours later on a different plane. The plane with engine trouble is scheduled to depart Bush Airport for Orlando at 7:20 a.m. Thursday. Emails from United provided by a passenger show they offered travelers a $200 flight credit and a $15 meal voucher. “United flight 1118 returned to Houston shortly after takeoff due to an engine issue. The flight landed safely, and the passengers deplaned normally. We arranged for a new aircraft to take our customers to their destination, which departed for Fort Myers later that evening,” the airline said in a statement. https://www.wtok.com/2024/03/07/united-flight-returns-airport-after-engine-catches-fire-shortly-after-takeoff/ IATA: Banner Year For Commercial Aviation Safety The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its annual safety report on Feb. 28, noting that 2023 was the safest year ever for commercial air travel. In its analysis, the trade group stated that there were no hull losses or fatal accidents involving passenger jet aircraft in 2023 despite a 17% uptick in aircraft movements compared to the previous year. IATA found there was one accident for every 1.26 million flights—the lowest rate in over a decade. To contextualize the level of risk, the group said an individual would need to fly daily for 103,239 years to experience a fatal accident. While there were no fatalities in passenger-jet related incidents last year, IATA did make mention of a crash of a turboprop aircraft in Nepal that killed 68 passengers and four crew members. Still, the numbers show a total of 29 accidents in 2023 that did not involve fatalities or loss of the plane, as compared to 42 accidents in 2022 in which five were fatal. IATA Director General Willie Walsh cautioned the industry against complacency. “A single fatal turboprop accident with 72 fatalities, however, reminds us that we can never take safety for granted. And two high profile accidents in the first month of 2024 show that, even if flying is among the safest activities a person can do, there is always room to improve. This is what we have done throughout our history. And we will continue to make flying ever safer,” Walsh remarked. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/iata-banner-year-for-commercial-aviation-safety Calling All Women—FAA Grants $13.5 Million To Fix Aviation Skills Gap The Federal Aviation Administration is awarding 32 U.S. educational institutions $13.5 million in grants to address the aviation skills shortfall, attracting students to pursue careers as pilots and maintenance technicians. One way the industry is working to tackle the gap is to encourage higher representation of women and minorities in these critical operations careers, where they have historically been grossly underrepresented. The Growing Aviation Skills Gap The aviation industry is working to overcome a gap between the skills required to support projected growth as air travel demand returns. Boeing’sBA -0.1% 2023-2042 Pilot and Technical Output Report shows North American aviation companies must recruit 429,000 critical operations staff, including 127,000 pilots and 125,000 technicians. The International Air Transport Association has reported that “staff and skill shortages have become more widespread and apparent in the post-pandemic world. Challenges with recruitment have been reported across the aviation value chain from ground handlers to airline staff and air traffic controllers, with visible operational disruptions across various countries since 2022.” Addressing the Pilot Shortage To better understand the global aviation skills gap, IATA conducted a Global Skills Survey in 2022, revealing some hurdles in attracting and retaining aviation professionals. Predictably, the main reason identified for the staffing gap in pilots is “both the cost of training and ‘time to train.’” An inability to attract a younger generation to pursue careers as pilots presents a challenge for the industry, especially as more experienced pilots retire. In the U.S., FAA regulations ban commercial airlines from employing pilots to operate flights after they reach the age of 65. While there has been a push to raise the retirement age, the FAA sees a need for more data on the potential impact on flight safety. The IATA survey found regional differences in how potential recruits perceive pilot careers. While it remains an attractive career path in Africa and the Middle East, it is less so in Europe and the Americas. Despite ongoing programs to include more women and people of color, the industry has a long way to go in diversifying its workforce to address the critical skills shortage. Women comprise 4% to 6% of the world’s airline pilots and only 4.9% of U.S. airline pilots. The IATA survey also found room for improvement in the pilot training curriculum. IATA reported that 71% of the training budget is dedicated to developing technical skills, while other critical “soft skills,” like communication, receive a lesser share (29%). Twelve schools will receive $4.5 million from the FAA’s Aircraft Pilots Aviation Workforce Development Grants program. The funding will help develop programs encouraging high school students to become pilots, aerospace engineers, or drone operators. The FAA grants can also help fund teachers’s professional development. These awards help develop aviation skills in some underprivileged areas. For example, the Beaufort County Schools in Washington, North Carolina, received a $374,930 grant from the FAA to develop a blended in-person and online educational program to train future airline pilots and drone operators, targeting a diverse student body. “The program will address the lack of aviation opportunities for minorities and underprivileged students,” the FAA states in the award announcement. Developing The Next Generation Of Aviation Maintenance Professionals Another challenge for the airline industry is recruiting and retaining maintenance, engineering, and technical professionals. The IATA survey found that the skills gap can be attributed to multiple alternative opportunities for those with maintenance and engineering skills to pursue careers in other industry sectors, with aviation maintenance and technician careers requiring a longer timeline to gain the necessary certification. According to the authors of the IATA survey report, “Respondents said that the number one barrier to attracting new candidates to the industry was related to the long (up to four years) and cumbersome training and licensing programs, such as for a licensed technician or mechanic. They believe the industry will soon face issues in refilling vacant positions with new talent.” They added that a “lack of mutual recognition of qualifications across the various aviation authorities increases the cost and time of recertification when employees transfer between countries.” As a strategy to address the skills gap, IATA recommended “working with universities to develop a curriculum that can attract new entrants.” They also proposed implementing performance-based training to enable harmonization of qualifications across regions making it easier for skilled aviation maintenance professionals to get jobs across borders. The FAA reported that “approximately 20,000 fewer people are working in the aircraft maintenance sector than before the pandemic.” The Administration has allocated $9 million to 20 U.S. institutions under its Aviation Maintenance Technical Workers Workforce Development program to address the shortfall. Grant recipients can fund new educational programs, offer scholarships or apprenticeships, and conduct community outreach to promote careers in aviation maintenance. They can also support education on aviation maintenance in economically disadvantaged areas. Only 2.6% of aviation maintenance technicians are women. One grant recipient, AAR Services was awarded a $500,000 grant to grow the number of apprentices at its maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities “through a combination of cohort hiring of female technicians, expanding the number of transitioning military personnel choosing aviation technical careers,” according to the FAA’s announcement of the grant. AAR will also make more apprenticeships available for high school students. AAR’s program will “work with EAGLE Career Pathway schools to reach qualified candidates including women and students of color.” Making Room For More Women In Aviation Despite the critical skills gap and high demand for qualified staff, the aviation industry has lagged far behind in representation. After relying on women to build, maintain and fly critical aircraft during the Second World War, the aviation industry turned tail in favor of men in peace time, and hasn’t looked back. Women are marginalized in all roles, representing less than 20% of the combined workforce. This percentage is boosted by the only exception—cabin crew—where women make up 79.2% of the workforce. Women hold only 3% of CEO positions in aviation. “While participation of women in the workforce has increased dramatically over the past four decades, despite all efforts, the percentage of women in the aviation industry hasn’t appreciably changed,” Dr. Heather Wilson, Chair of the Women in Aviation Advisory Board said in a 2022 report on breaking barriers for women in aviation. “The biggest barrier that discourages women from entering and staying in aviation careers is culture – and it is the hardest to change. Women don’t feel like they belong. Changing culture requires consistent leadership commitment over time in thousands of large and small actions across government and industry. It’s hard work. It’s time to get started.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisagarcia/2024/03/06/calling-all-women-faa-grants-135-million-to-fix-aviation-skills-gap/?sh=142537c3f440 CALENDAR OF EVENTS • 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 • Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 17 & 18 September - London • 2024 ISASI - Lisbon, Portugal - September 30 to October 4, 2024 • 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition - Oct. 22-24 (Vegas) Curt Lewis