Flight Safety Information - March 8, 2024 No. 050 In This Issue : Incident: United B772 at San Francisco on Mar 7th 2024, dropped main wheel on departure : Incident: West Atlantic AT72 enroute on Mar 7th 2023, rudder restriction : Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 17 & 18 September - London : Incident: United B38M at Newark on Feb 6th 2024, stuck rudder pedals on landing : Investigators say they confirmed pilots' account of a rudder-control failure on a Boeing Max jet : American Air jet clipped Frontier Jet on Miami International Airport tarmac : Plane slides off runway at Bush Airport; No injuries reported : United Airlines had to stop hiring pilots because of Boeing's plane issues : How Indonesian airline pilots fell asleep mid-flight – Safety agency reveals : Boeing ups employee incentives to build safer planes by tying bonuses to safety and quality goals following Alaska Air scare : Military clears Ospreys to fly again after a series of fatal crashes : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: United B772 at San Francisco on Mar 7th 2024, dropped main wheel on departure A United Boeing 777-200, registration N226UA performing flight UA-35 from San Francisco,CA (USA) to Osaka Kansai (Japan), was climbing out of San Francisco's runway 28R when after becoming airborne and before gear retraction the inboard aft wheel of the left main gear separated from the gear strut and fell onto the ground. The aircraft retracted the gear and climbed to FL320, about 170nm northnorthwest of San Francisco the crew turned around to return to San Francisco and subsequently decided to divert to Los Angeles,CA (USA), where the aircraft landed on runway 25L without further incident. The aircraft stopped on the runway and was towed to the apron about 12 minutes after landing. Emergency services reported there did not appear to be any damage to the airframe at all (apart from the wheel). Two cars parked on the ground were damaged. The FAA released a statement: "United Airlines Flight 35 landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport around 1:30 p.m. local time on March 7 after the crew reported a landing gear issue. The Boeing 777 departed from San Francisco International Airport and was headed to Osaka International Airport in Japan. The FAA will investigate. " https://avherald.com/h?article=515e1b7b&opt=0 Incident: West Atlantic AT72 enroute on Mar 7th 2023, rudder restriction A West Atlantic Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-200, registration G-NPTF performing flight NPT-07B from East Midlands,EN to Belfast International,NI (UK), was enroute when the aircraft suffered restricted rudder travel. The aircraft continued to Aldergrove airport for a safe landing on runway 25 about one hour after departure. The UK AAIB rated the occurrence a serious incident and opened an investigation, also stating that the rudder travel restriction continued after landing and during taxi. The aircraft is still on the ground in Belfast 9 days after the landing. On Jan 17th 2023 the aircraft had suffered electrical issues keeping the aircraft on the ground for about a week, see Incident: West Atlantic AT72 at East Midlands on Jan 17th 2023, electrical issues. On Mar 7th 2024 the AAIB reported: "During the landing flare the flight crew encountered a rudder control restriction and used nosewheel steering for directional control on the runway. Examination of the aircraft the following day revealed that the rudder was almost immoveable, either using the rudder pedals in the cockpit or by physically pressing on the rudder itself. The investigation is nearing completion and has focused on determining the reason for the restriction in the rudder control system." https://avherald.com/h?article=50688447&opt=0 Incident: United B38M at Newark on Feb 6th 2024, stuck rudder pedals on landing A United Boeing 737-8 MAX, registration N47280 performing flight UA-1539 from Nassau (Bahamas) to Newark,NJ (USA) with 155 passengers and 6 crew, landed on Newark's runway 04R when during roll out the rudder pedals were stuck in the neutral position. The captain maintained directional control via the steering tiller, rolled out without further incident and taxied the aircraft to the apron. The aircraft underwent a test flight the following day during which the anomaly was replicated. On Mar 7th 2024 the NTSB reported: In a post-incident statement, the captain reported that during the landing rollout, the rudder pedals did not move in response to the “normal” application of foot pressure while attempting to maintain the runway centerline. The pedals remained “stuck” in their neutral position. The captain used the nosewheel steering tiller to keep the airplane near the runway centerline while slowing to a safe taxi speed before exiting the runway onto a high-speed turn-off. While on the high-speed turnoff, the captain asked the first officer to check his rudder pedals and he reported the same problem. The captain reported, that shortly thereafter, the rudder pedals began to operate normally. After parking the aircraft, the flight crew notified UAL maintenance of the flight control malfunction. The airplane was removed from service for maintenance and troubleshooting. A review of preliminary flight data recorder (FDR) data corroborated the pilot’s statements regarding the malfunction of the rudder system. Data showed that during the landing and subsequent rollout, the rudder surface position remained near its neutral position even though the force inputs to the rudder pedals were observed to be increasing. About 30 seconds after touchdown, a significant pedal force input was observed along with corresponding rudder surface movement. Afterward, the rudder pedals and rudder surface began moving as commanded and continued to function normally for the remainder of the taxi. On February 9, 2024, UAL conducted a test flight on the event airplane at EWR and was able to duplicate the reported rudder system malfunction identified during the incident. As a result, the test flight profile was discontinued, and the airplane returned to EWR and landed uneventfully. The NTSB was notified of the flight control issue after the flight test and an incident investigation was started. The NTSB further reported: Post-incident troubleshooting and inspection of the rudder control system found no obvious malfunctions with the system or any of its components whose failure would have resulted in the restricted movement observed during flight 1539 and the test flight. As a precaution, the aft rudder input torque tube and associated upper and lower bearings and the rudder rollout guidance servo were removed for further examination by the NTSB systems group. ... On February 28, 2024, the Systems group met at the Collins Aerospace facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to examine and test the SVO-730 rollout guidance servo removed from the incident airplane. The testing was conducted to evaluate the effects that temperature “cold soaking” of the servo might have on the torque required to move the servo’s output crank arm. Testing at room temperature found that the torque to rotate the servo’s output crank arm was within design specifications. The unit was then “cold soaked” for 1 hour and the test was repeated. That testing found that the torque to move the servo’s output crank arm was significantly beyond the specified design limits. Because the servo output crank arm is mechanically connected to the rudder input torque tube, the restricted movement of the servo’s output crank arm would prevent the rudder pedals from moving as observed during flight 1539 and the test flight. Further examination of the SVO-730 rollout guidance servo will be conducted as the investigation continues. https://avherald.com/h?article=515dab89&opt=0 Investigators say they confirmed pilots' account of a rudder-control failure on a Boeing Max jet Federal investigators said Thursday they confirmed pilots' account of a brief failure of rudder controls on a Boeing 737 Max after it landed at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey last month. United Airlines pilots said pedals that control rudder movement on the plane were stuck as they tried to keep the plane in the center of the runway during the Feb. 6 landing. The pilots were able to use a small nose-gear steering wheel to veer from the runway to a high-speed turnoff. The rudder pedals began working again as the pilots taxied to the gate with 155 passengers and six crew members on the flight from Nassau, Bahamas, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board. Boeing said this is the only rudder-response issue reported on a Max, although two similar incidents happened in 2019 with an earlier model of the 737 called NG or next generation, which has the same rudder-pedal system. The manufacturer said the issue was fixed by replacing three parts. The plane has made dozens of passenger-carrying flights since then, according to data from FlightAware. United said the parts were related to a landing feature that was designed for other airlines, and United has only nine planes with those parts. The airline said it will work with Boeing, the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration “on next steps for these aircraft.” The NTSB said preliminary information from the plane's flight data recorder, one of the so-called black boxes, confirmed the captain's description of the event. United was able to recreate the same problem on the 2-year-old plane during a test flight at the Newark airport three days later, and reported the problem to the NTSB. Mechanics couldn't find an obvious cause for the malfunction during an inspection, but they replaced parts of the rudder control system, and the plane operated normally during a second test flight, the NTSB said. The NTSB said that when it subjected one of the removed parts to cold for one hour in a laboratory, it failed to produce the torque needed for the rudder pedals to work. The NTSB said it plans further testing of the part. Pedals in the cockpit control the rudder, which is attached to the vertical part of the tail and can be used to point the nose of the plane left or right. United, Boeing, parts supplier Collins Aerospace and the Federal Aviation Administration are taking part in the ongoing investigation. Collins did not immediately comment. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/investigators-confirmed-pilots-account-rudder-180808023.html American Air jet clipped Frontier Jet on Miami International Airport tarmac MIAMI - Two flights out of Miami International Airport were delayed Thursday evening after one of the planes clipped the other. As an American Airlines jet was backing up around 8:30 p.m. it hit a Frontier Airlines jet. In a video post on Only in Dade, an airport employee can be seen running on the tarmac to stop the American plane from continuing to back up. After impact, the American jet had damage to its vertical stabilizer, and the Frontier jet had damage to its tail where the vertical stabilizer went into it, leaving a hole. Both planes will likely be out of commission for several weeks as they are repaired. American Flight 929 was headed to Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Frontier flight was bound for Dallas. Both flights were pushed to Friday. https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/american-air-jet-clipped-frontier-jet-on-miami-international-airport-tarmac/ Plane slides off runway at Bush Airport; No injuries reported HOUSTON – Officials are working to clear the scene of a plane that reportedly slid off the runway at Bush Airport early Friday morning. According to staff at Bush International Airport, the call for the United Airlines plane has since been downgraded to an Alert 1. At this time, no injuries have been reported. United Airlines released the following statement: “Around 8 a.m. today, a United Airlines flight landed on a runway at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). As it was exiting the runway for the gate, the aircraft left the pavement and entered the grass along Runway 9-27. Fortunately, no one on board was injured and all passengers were safely transported to the terminal. Per federal regulation, the FAA has been notified. Flights in and out of IAH continue without interruption. For more details about the flight and its passengers, please reach out to United Airlines.” According to KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding, a passenger on the flight stated that the landing was smooth however while taxiing, they turned and felt bumps. ”Felt like when you have a flat tire in a car,” the passenger told Goulding. The passenger said that the plane ended up in the grass, leaning towards the left. As of now, the bags and personal belongings of the passengers are still on board. Some say they are worried that they will soon miss their connecting flights. https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/03/08/plane-goes-off-runway-at-bush-airport-no-injuries-reported/ United Airlines had to stop hiring pilots because of Boeing's plane issues The hiring slowdown is just the latest ripple effect of Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing issues United Airlines is pausing its pilot hiring in the spring due to delays in aircraft delivery from Boeing. The Chicago-based airline told staff Thursday that a hiring freeze would come into effect in May and June before partially resuming in July, according to an internal memo cited in multiple news reports. The memo was sent to staff by United’s vice president of flight operations, Marc Champion, and vice president of flight operations planning and development, Kirk Limacher. “We just won’t grow as fast as we thought we would in 2024 due to continued delays at Boeing,” the carrier told pilots. The slowdown is just the latest example of the aftereffects of Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing issues, culminating in a near-disastrous incident in January. On Jan. 5, Alaska Airlines flight 1282 passengers — onboard a brand new Boeing 737 Max 9 — saw a door plug fly off mid-flight; those passengers have since filed multiple lawsuits against Boeing. Since the incident, the Arlington, Virginia-based aerospace giant has languished under heightened scrutiny from the public and U.S. federal regulators. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report that noted that the Alaska plane involved in the incident had been delivered without four bolts needed to hold the door plug in place. The agency said earlier this week that it was “absurd” that Boeing had not yet provided documents requested several times in the wake of the Jan. 5 incident. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched a separate investigation and recently took Boeing to task for “multiple instances” of failing to meet safety quality standards. The regulator has also capped production of Boeing’s 737 Max at 38 jets per month. After discovering a host of production flaws, the FAA continues to scrutinize operations at Boeing’s Washington state facility, along with the Kansas facility owned by Boeing’s supplier, Spirit AeroSystems. United on Thursday said it no longer expects to receive the 80 Max 10 planes it had expected to receive in 2024 and removed those jets from internal plans. The carrier also cut its 2024 forecast for Max 8 delivery to 37 from 43 jets and expects to receive 15 fewer Max 9s. “[T]hose aircraft aren’t even certified yet and it’s impossible to know when they will arrive,” Champion and Limacher wrote to staff, referring to the ordered Max 8 jets. Meanwhile, on Monday, Texas-based American Airlines said it would order nearly 100 new planes from Boeing. https://qz.com/united-boeing-pilot-hiring-freeze-plane-delays-737-max-1851319249 How Indonesian airline pilots fell asleep mid-flight – Safety agency reveals The Indonesian Air safety agency has called for better pilot fatigue monitoring mechanisms after an investigation revealed that both pilots of a commercial aircraft had recently fallen asleep in-flight. A pilot and co-pilot were simultaneously asleep for approximately 28 minutes during a Batik Air flight from South East Sulawesi to the capital Jakarta on January 25, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said. The report, seen by AFP on Friday, was uploaded to the agency’s website in late February. Indonesia is a vast archipelago with a poor air safety record, despite relying heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands. One of the pilots had not rested adequately on the night before the flight, the report said. The incident resulted in a series of navigation errors, but the Airbus A320’s 153 passengers and four flight attendants were unharmed during the two-hour-and-35-minute flight. About half an hour after the plane took off, the captain asked permission from his second-in-command to rest for a while, with the request being granted. The co-pilot then took over command of the aircraft, but also inadvertently fell asleep, the report said. “The second-in-command had one-month twin babies. His wife took care of the babies and he assisted while at home,” the report said. A few minutes after the last recorded transmission by the co-pilot, the area control centre in Jakarta tried to contact the aircraft. It received no answer. Twenty-eight minutes after the last recorded transmission, the pilot woke up and realised his co-pilot was asleep and that the aircraft was not on the correct flight path. He immediately woke his colleague up, responded to the calls from Jakarta and corrected the flight path, the report said. The plane landed safely after the incident. Investigators did not identify the pilots, but said they were both Indonesians and were aged 32 and 28. KNKT urged Batik Air to create detailed procedures to conduct proper and regular cockpit checks and to ensure that pilots and cabin crew were well-rested before their flights. Batik Air did not immediately respond to questions when contacted by AFP. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/03/how-indonesian-airline-pilots-fell-asleep-mid-flight-safety-agency-reveals/ Boeing ups employee incentives to build safer planes by tying bonuses to safety and quality goals following Alaska Air scare The company behind the 737 Max, a plane its own test pilots infamously derided as designed by clowns and supervised by monkeys, wants to be known for quality and safety once again. In January, a door plug in the fuselage of an almost new Boeing 737 Max 9 was sucked off due to multiple bolts missing. The Alaska Airscare prompted a spike in usage of travel aggregator Kayak’s option to filter out flights that employ Boeing aircraft. In a statement to Fortune, Boeing confirmed a Wall Street Journal report that it had informed staff on Wednesday its nonunion workforce, comprising over 100,000 employees, would now receive greater financial incentives for building safer planes. “It’s very, very important to drive the outcomes that we’re all committed to,” operations chief Stephanie Pope told employees, “and that’s to deliver a safe and quality product to our customer.” Boeing’s core commercial aerospace business responsible for the string of safety scandals is most affected by the changes. Now 60% of the annual bonus for civil aircraft staff will be tied to hitting operational targets, up from less than 25%, Boeing said. Previously the ratio was almost the exact opposite, with 75% of their bonus coming from the achievement of specific financial milestones. More importantly, however, the company added that for 2024 the operational metrics it will use will be focused exclusively on safety and quality. The decision comes amid rising pressure by the Biden administration, which recently made the unprecedented decision to cap the number of aircraft the company manufacturers in a month until it can prove those it does build are safe for people to fly. Speaking with CNBC on Wednesday, transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg pledged his Federal Aviation Authority would “keep Boeing under a microscope” in the meantime. https://fortune.com/2024/03/08/boeing-737-max-safety-scandal-employee-bonuses-alaska-airlines/ Military clears Ospreys to fly again after a series of fatal crashes Navy officials say they have identified a part that failed in a November crash that killed eight service members, but will not yet announce the finding publicly. The U.S. military said Friday that despite a series of fatal crashes, it has deemed the V-22 Osprey aircraft safe to fly and has lifted the order that had kept most of the military's fleet of about 400 Ospreys grounded. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) ordered the entire Osprey fleet grounded more than three months ago, following the fatal Nov. 29 crash of an Air Force CV-22 Osprey off the coast of Japan that killed eight Special Operations airmen. It was the fourth fatal crash of the unique twin tiltrotor aircraft in less than two years, in which 20 U.S. service members have been killed. The crash remains under investigation, but last month NBC News reported that investigators have zeroed in on a failure in the aircraft’s proprotor gearbox. While officials from NAVAIR say that the crash was likely due to a material failure and they have identified the part that failed, they will not yet announce the finding publicly or disclose the timeline of events that led to the crash. During a media briefing earlier this week, officials acknowledged they are not certain why the part failed. Col. Brian Taylor, the program manager for the V-22 Joint Program Office, which oversees Osprey use by all service branches, said that this is the first time the office has seen this particular component fail, calling it “unprecedented.” But military officials said they are confident they can mitigate the failure by implementing new procedural changes. Pentagon officials say there will be operational limitations on the aircraft to enhance safety but details on the limitations were not disclosed. In a statement, NAVAIR said the decision to return to flight "follows a meticulous and data-driven approach prioritizing the safety of our aircrew.” Some families of service members who died in the crashes remain skeptical of returning the aircraft to flight when the military does not know why the Osprey crashed in Japan. The Government Accountability Office and members of Congress have been investigating the Osprey program. In a statement, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said, “The House Oversight Committee has yet to receive adequate information requested from DOD as part of our ongoing investigation launched months ago into the safety and performance of the Osprey aircraft. Serious concerns remain, such as accountability measures put in place to prevent crashes, a general lack of transparency, how maintenance and operational upkeep is prioritized, and how DOD assesses risks.” As the military continues to investigate, the services will take a phased approach to return to flight, each with varying timelines before all of their aircraft are back in the air. Ospreys are flown by the Marines, the Navy and the Air Force. The great majority belong to the Marine Corps, which uses them for three-quarters of its movement of troops and equipment during operations. The Marine Corps is calling its approach to return to flight “crawl, walk, run.” It will happen in three phases, beginning with “extensive maintenance checks” and refresher training for pilot instructors for the first 30 days. The entire return to flight plan should be complete in late spring or early summer, according to a Marine Corps statement. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/military-clears-ospreys-fly-after-series-fatal-crashes-rcna142107 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