Flight Safety Information - March 14, 2024 No. 054 In This Issue : Incident: Jet2 B738 at Leeds on Mar 14th 2024, bird strike : Incident: American B772 at Los Angeles on Mar 13th 2024, tyre pressure indication : Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 17 & 18 September - London : Incident: KLM B773 near Madrid on Mar 11th 2024, rattling noise from engine : Incident: American A21N at Phoenix on Mar 12th 2024, rejected takeoff due to engine problem : Movement of pilot's seat a focus of probe into LATAM Boeing flight, report says Reuters : Investigator says she asked Boeing's CEO who handled panel that blew off a jet. He couldn't help her : Boeing did not retain security camera footage showing work on Max jet door that blew out, NTSB says : Private jet firm flew Hawker 800 with reinstalled damaged rudder, FAA alleges : American Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing At LAX—Joining These Other Airline Mishaps : Cheyenne Regional Airport reports prank laser glares are blinding pilots : FAA proposes $280k fine for unqualified co-pilots at Southern Airways Express : Unapproved Repair Triggers CFM56 Emergency Directive : Chilean investigators to lead probe into LATAM Boeing flight that injured 50 : Frontier Airlines opens crew base at Cleveland airport : Europe regulator says it would pull Boeing approval if needed : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: Jet2 B738 at Leeds on Mar 14th 2024, bird strike A Jet2.com Boeing 737-800, registration G-JZHM performing flight LS-217 from Leeds,EN (UK) to Arrecife,CI (Spain), was climbing out of Leeds' runway 14 when the crew stopped the climb at 5000 feet reporting a bird strike into the left hand engine (CFM56) resulting in engine vibrations. The aircraft entered a hold while the crew worked the related checklists, subsequently the crew decided to divert to Manchester,EN (UK) where the aircraft landed safely on runway 23R about 50 minutes after departure. The aircraft vacated the runway and stopped on the parallel taxiway for an inspection by emergency services, subsequently taxied to the apron with emergency services in trail. https://avherald.com/h?article=51621a6f&opt=0 Incident: American B772 at Los Angeles on Mar 13th 2024, tyre pressure indication An American Airlines Boeing 777-200, registration N796AN performing flight AA-345 from Dallas Ft. Worth,TX to Los Angeles,CA (USA), was descending towards Los Angeles when the crew reported a tyre low pressure indication on the right hand main gear and requested emergency services be present upon arrival. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on runway 25L, vacated the runway and stopped for an inspection by emergency services who reported seeing no physical damage. The aircraft taxied to the apron. The aircraft is still on the ground in Los Angeles about 6 hours after landing estimated to depart again in about 5 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=51620c12&opt=0 Incident: KLM B773 near Madrid on Mar 11th 2024, rattling noise from engine A KLM Boeing 777-300, registration PH-BVG performing flight KL-791 from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Sao Paulo Guarulhos,SP (Brazil), was enroute at FL310 about 90nm northwest of Madrid,SP (Spain) when the crew decided to return to Amsterdam. The aircraft descended to FL300 for the return, dumped fuel and landed safely on Amsterdam's runway 36C about 3:40 hours after departure. The rotation was cancelled. A passenger reported the captain told them there was a rattling noise coming from the engine he had never heard in 40 year of experience and he didn't feel comfortable to cross the Atlantic with. The airline reported the aircraft returned to Amsterdam due to a technical malfunction. The aircraft remained on the ground in Amsterdam for about 30 hours before returning to service. https://avherald.com/h?article=516173bc&opt=0 Incident: American A21N at Phoenix on Mar 12th 2024, rejected takeoff due to engine problem An American Airlines Airbus A321-200N, registration N424AN performing flight AA-2226 from Phoenix,AZ to Orlando,FL (USA), was accelerating for takeoff from Phoenix's runway 07L when the crew rejected takeoff at high speed (110 knots over ground). The crew advised ATC their #1 engine (LEAP, left hand) "did not come up" and taxied back to the apron. A replacement A321-200N registration N402AN reached Orlando with a delay of about 2:45 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=51617615&opt=0 Movement of pilot's seat a focus of probe into LATAM Boeing flight, report says Reuters (Reuters) -The movement of a flight deck seat is a key focus of the probe into a sudden mid-air dive by a LATAM Airlines Boeing 787 plane that left more than 50 people injured, aviation industry publication the Air Current reported on Wednesday. The plane, which was heading from Sydney to Auckland on Monday, dropped abruptly before stabilizing, causing those on board to be thrown about the cabin. Based on the available information it was understood the seat movement was "pilot induced, not intentionally," the report said, citing a senior airline safety official. "The seat movement caused the nose down" angle of the aircraft, the publication said, citing another anonymous source who added the possibility of an electrical short was also under review. Boeing is expected to release a message to 787 operators regarding the incident, the Air Current reported, in a sign a fleet-wide issue could be involved though it said the specific topic was not known to the publication. Boeing declined to comment on the report, instead referring Reuters to the investigating agencies. Chile's aviation regulator, which is leading the probe given it involves a Chilean airline flying in international airspace, said the investigation "just got underway" and its investigators had arrived in New Zealand. LATAM said it "continues to work in coordination with the authorities to support the investigation" and said it was not appropriate to comment on speculation that has circulated. LATAM is based in Chile and the flight, which had 263 passengers and nine crew members, was due to continue on to Santiago after stopping in Auckland. The cause of the flight's apparent sudden change in trajectory has not yet been explained. Safety experts say most airplane accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors that need to be thoroughly investigated. New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission said on Tuesday it was seizing the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the flight, which would provide information about the conversations between the pilots and the plane's movement. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/pilot-seat-movement-focus-probe-235431466.html Investigator says she asked Boeing's CEO who handled panel that blew off a jet. He couldn't help her FILE - National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy speaks to the media about the investigation on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in Portland, Ore., Jan. 6, 2024. Homendy, the nation’s chief accident investigator, said Wednesday, March 13, 2024, that her agency still doesn’t know who worked on the panel that blew off a jetliner in January and that Boeing’s CEO told her that he couldn’t provide the information because the company has no records about the job. The nation’s chief accident investigator said Wednesday that her agency still doesn’t know who worked on the panel that blew off a jetliner in January and that Boeing’s CEO told her that he couldn’t provide the information because the company has no records about the job. “The absence of those records will complicate the NTSB’s investigation moving forward,” National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy wrote in a letter to a Senate committee that is looking into the Jan. 5 accident on a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines. Boeing issued a brief statement vowing, as it has many times, to support the investigation. Homendy told senators last week that the NTSB asked Boeing for security-camera footage that might help identify who worked on the panel in September, but was told the video was overwritten after 30 days — months before the blowout. Boeing said Wednesday that it's standard company practice to erase video after 30 days. Homendy's latest letter to the Senate Commerce Committee was a follow-up to her appearance before the panel last week. Shortly after her testimony ended, Boeing provided names of 25 employees who work on doors at the company’s 737 factory near Seattle. She said, however, the company still hasn’t said which of the workers removed the panel, which plugs a hole left when extra emergency doors are not required on a plane. She said she even called Boeing CEO David Calhoun. “He stated he was unable to provide that information and maintained that Boeing has no records of the work being performed,” Homendy wrote. Boeing did not comment on the phone call. There is a drawback to NTSB's focus on identifying specific workers, Homendy conceded. She worried that it could discourage people from talking about the matter with investigators, and so she told her staff to protect the identities of Boeing employees who come forward. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/investigator-says-she-asked-boeings-225907522.html Boeing did not retain security camera footage showing work on Max jet door that blew out, NTSB says Boeing also will not identify employees who worked on the fuselage of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which made an emergency landing after the incident. Security camera footage showing work being done on a Boeing Max 9 door plug that later blew out mid-air has been overwritten, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said. In a letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that is reviewing the incident and Boeing's role in it, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said her agency still lacks critical information about the chain of events that led up to the January incident that caused an Alaska Airlines flight carrying 177 people to make an emergency landing. "We still do not know who performed the work to open, reinstall, and close the door plug on the accident aircraft," Homendy wrote. "Boeing has informed us that they are unable to find the records documenting this work." She continued: "A verbal request was made by our investigators for security camera footage to help obtain this information; however, they were informed the footage was overwritten. The absence of those records will complicate the NTSB’s investigation moving forward." Homendy said in the letter that she also personally called Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun and asked him for the names of the workers who performed the work in question. But, Homendy said, Calhoun stated he was "unable to provide that information and maintained that Boeing has no records of the work being performed." A Boeing spokesperson said the company, like many others, does not retain security footage for longer than 30 days. The Alaska Airlines plane in question was in the factory last year in September and delivered in October. “We will continue supporting this investigation in the transparent and proactive fashion we have supported all regulatory inquiries into this accident," Boeing said. "We have worked hard to honor the rules about the release of investigative information in an environment of intense interest from our employees, customers, and other stakeholders, and we will continue our efforts to do so.” Homendy had previously publicly reprimanded Boeing for failing to turn over information her agency had requested, calling it “absurd.” Last week, NBC News confirmed a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. Department of Justice had opened a criminal case into the incident. On Monday, South Carolina officials confirmed a Boeing whistleblower was found dead of an apparent self-inflected gunshot wound. The former employee, John Barnett, 62, was preparing to testify in a deposition in a federal legal action against Boeing dating back to at least 2017. Barnett's family in a statement that he had encountered “a culture of concealment” that valued “profits over safety” at Boeing. The New York Times also reported this week that an FAA audit of Boeing’s 737 Max production reportedly found "dozens of issues." This week, major carriers that fly Boeing fuselages including Alaska Airlines, Southwest, and United Airlines said they may have to trim capacity and push back orders as a result of Boeing's issues. “Boeing needs to become a better company and the deliveries will follow that,” Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said at a JPMorgan industry conference Tuesday, according to CNBC. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/boeing-lost-video-footage-showing-work-max-jet-door-blowout-ntsb-rcna143241 Private jet firm flew Hawker 800 with reinstalled damaged rudder, FAA alleges The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is alleging that a private jet charter firm based in the United States (US) operated a business aircraft on multiple flights when it was “not airworthy following improper maintenance”. In a statement issued on March 13, 2024, the FAA claimed that Houston-based Empyreal Jet operated a Raytheon Hawker 800 private jet on approximately 31 flights with a reinstalled damaged rudder. In September 2022, an inspection of the Hawker 800 discovered cracks in the skin of the jet’s rudder The FAA alleges that In October 2022, Empyreal reinstalled the damaged rudder and staff entered in a maintenance log that they had replaced the original part. The FAA is proposing that Empyreal Jet pay a civil penalty of $175,000. According to flightradar24, Empyreal Jet operates a fleet comprised of the Raytheon Hawker 800 and the Gulfstream IV and is based out of William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) in Texas. The company offers charter flights, a fractional ownership program and aircraft maintenance services. The Raytheon Hawker 800 mid-size business aircraft that was developed from the British Aerospace BAe 25. In 2005, production of the Hawker 800XP came to an end with the bulk of the remaining aircraft operating in North America. “Empyreal has 30 days after receiving the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency” the FAA said. AeroTime has contacted Empyreal Jet for comment. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/private-jet-faa-empyreal-raytheon-hawker-rudder American Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing At LAX—Joining These Other Airline Mishaps An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles Wednesday night after the Boeing 777 jet blew a tire during takeoff—the latest in a concerning trend of airline incidents, after another Boeing jet’s door plug blew off mid-flight in January, prompting a national ground stop and multiple investigations. March 13 The Boeing 777 jet blew a tire while taking off from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Wednesday night, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the incident. March 11 At least 50 people were injured when a New Zealand-bound LATAM Airlines flight suddenly dropped mid-flight, though the plane was able to land as scheduled in Auckland, New Zealand—10 passengers and three members of the crew were taken to a local hospital. March 11 A trans-Pacific United Airlines flight headed from Sydney to San Francisco returned to Sydney due to a reported “maintenance issue” on the plane, the airline told multiple outlets. March 9 A United Airlines flight that took off from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport was forced to return after the plane’s crew detected a possible oil warning light issue, according to the FAA. March 8 Airport officials confirmed a United flight slid off the runway and completely onto the grass beside it while en route to its terminal gate at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport—the FAA told Forbes it will investigate the incident. March 8 A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Mexico City was forced to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles due to a hydraulics issue. March 7 A trans-Pacific United flight bound Osaka, Japan, was diverted to Los Angeles after a tire fell from the plane as it was taking off from San Francisco International Airport, damaging parked vehicles in an airport parking lot—no injuries were reported. March 6 After crew on a Phoenix-bound Alaska Airlines flight noticed a burning smell at the back of the plane, pilots on the aircraft returned to Portland, Oregon, in an incident the FAA is investigating. March 4 A United flight from Houston to Fort Myers, Florida, was forced to make an emergency landing back in Houston after one of the plane’s engines started to shoot flames midair, a frightening scene caught on video that United called an “engine issue.” March 4 That same day, the crew of a United flight from Pensacola, Florida, to Chicago reported a gear issue on the plane, though pilots were able to land it safely in Chicago. March 2 The tail of a JetBlue plane departing from New York scraped the runway at an airport in Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean, causing no injuries. March 1 Smoke filled the cabin of a Breeze Airways flight bound for Pittsburgh—the smoke reportedly came from a lithium battery fire in a laptop, and the plane landed safely in Albuquerque. Feb. 29 An American Airlines flight landed at New York’s LaGuardia airport after the plane’s crew reported smoke in the cabin, an incident the FAA is investigating. Feb. 28 A Delta Air Lines flight landed in Syracuse, New York, after the plane suffered a reported engine issue, while an American Airlines flight on its way to Spain was forced to make an emergency landing in Boston due to a cracked windshield. Feb. 20 The crew of a United flight reported a blown tire after the plane’s departure from Colorado Springs—the plane made a safe landing in Denver. Feb. 6 The pilot of a United flight attempting to land at Newark Liberty International Airport reported the plane’s rudder pedal was stuck in neutral, and while the plane was able to safely land with a functioning pedal after touchdown, the ordeal prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the incident. Jan. 16 The FAA opened an investigation into a near miss at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, when air traffic controllers suddenly ordered a Delta Air Lines flight set for takeoff to stop in its tracks, noticing an American Airlines flight cross in front of the departing Delta plane. Jan. 15 At least 68 people were killed when a passenger plane crashed near a resort town in Nepal, the country’s worst airplane disaster in three decades. Jan. 5 Shortly after takeoff, the door plug on an Alaska Airlines Boeing blew out, causing no fatalities, but forcing the plane to make an emergency landing and prompting a nationwide grounding and multiple federal investigations. TANGENT Boeing, one of only two major commercial jet manufacturers in the world, has faced heavy criticism over the safety of its 737 and 737 MAX jets, the company’s best selling aircraft. While its MAX planes have only been in service since 2017, they have come under heavy scrutiny following two fatal crashes within months of each other, including an Ethiopia Airlines flight that crashed in March 2019, killing all crew and passengers on board, and a Lion Air flight that descended into the Java Sea, killing everyone on board. The FAA grounded the MAX jet after those crashes, but cleared it to resume flights in 2020. More recently, Boeing is facing scrutiny after a door plug dropped from a flight midair, an incident that prompted the FAA to launch an investigation and order a temporary ground stop of Boeing 737-9 MAX jets in the U.S. Another investigation by the NTSB later found the Alaska Airlines jet in use had missing bolts on the door plug, with the organization warning Boeing has a “quality control problem.” CONTRA The FAA issued a so-called safety call to action last February, saying the federal agency plans to take a “critical look at the U.S. aerospace system’s structure, culture, processes, systems and integration of safety efforts” following a string of close calls. Billy Nolen, the agency’s former administrator, said the FAA “cannot take this for granted,” adding “recent events remind us that we must not become complacent.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2024/03/14/american-airlines-flight-makes-emergency-landing-at-lax-joining-these-other-airline-mishaps/?sh=1982651958a9 Cheyenne Regional Airport reports prank laser glares are blinding pilots CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - The Cheyenne Regional Airport needs your help. Since the beginning of 2024, there have been eight incidences in which pilots experienced someone shining green lasers into their eyes as they try and land aircraft. Tuesday night Andrew Harrison a pilot for the Wyoming National Guard and a deputy for the Laramie County Sheriff’s office was blinded by a laser on his descent while trying to land his black hawk helicopter in the Cheyenne Regional Airport. “We were about to land on runway 270 when we got lazed from the south side of Cheyenne near the capitol building. It’s a little concerning when it happens for sure when you’re over a populated area,” said Andrew Harrison, Wyoming National Guard, Black Hawk Pilot, and Laramie County Sherriff Deputy. Air traffic control is concerned because of the dire consequences blinding pilots could have not only on civilians military and cargo but the neighboring areas as well. “Ya if they are on final, they are on low level and they lose their vision for temporarily and it could result in an aircraft accident hitting the ground or losing their orientation for a little bit and causing the aircraft to crash,” said Michael Lang, Air Traffic Manager. Blinding military or airline pilots is a federal criminal offense with fines of up to $250, 000 and 5 years of jail time. Sky west has been hit the military helicopters have been hit C-130s have been hit with lasers and general aviation aircraft,” said Lang. officials say these laser glares are coming from the south-southeast portion of the airfield. “It’s pretty disheartening to know that people would want to cause harm, not just to our aircrew but to the local populace around us if we did lose control of an aircraft,” said Harrison. Several local agencies are working together to hone in on the glare to deter possible future fatalities or injuries. Authorities are asking if anyone sees or knows of any person or incident connected with the laser glares to email authorities at laserreports@faa.gov. https://www.wyomingnewsnow.tv/2024/03/14/cheyenne-regional-airport-reports-prank-laser-glares-are-blinding-pilots/ FAA proposes $280k fine for unqualified co-pilots at Southern Airways Express The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has put forth a proposal to impose a $280,000 civil penalty on Southern Airways Express of Palm Beach, Florida. This action is taken due to the alleged use of an unqualified co-pilot on revenue flights. According to the FAA, between Oct. 1, 2022, and Oct. 12, 2022, Southern Airways Express operated three Cessna Caravan airplanes on 32 commercial flights with a co-pilot who had not undergone recent written or oral tests, nor a competency check. These flights took place between Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia and Morgantown Municipal Airport in West Virginia. The FAA contends that Southern Airways Express operated in a negligent or reckless manner by employing an unqualified pilot, thereby jeopardizing both lives and property. Following the receipt of the FAA’s penalty letter, the company has a 30-day window to respond to the agency. https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/faa-proposes-280k-fine-for-unqualified-co-pilots-at-southern-airways-express/ Unapproved Repair Triggers CFM56 Emergency Directive An MRO shop's unapproved repair process triggered a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) emergency airworthiness directive that orders parts removed from 57 CFM International engines. A third-party engine maintenance shop working on critical CFM56 parts used an induction heater "in a manner that may have resulted in unintended electrical arcing to those parts," EASA said. The unnamed shop discovered the issue and alerted CFM. The shop determined its unapproved process was used on life-limited parts that ended up in 57 engines, including CFM56-5s, and -7s found on Airbus A320ceos and Boeing 737 Next Generation variants. Affected parts were high-pressure compressor stage 3 disks, high pressure turbine rear shafts, and compressor discharge pressure seals, EASA said. Evidence of arcing on a part shed light on the issue. Arcing can damage coatings or degrade materials, which can affect their service lives. CFM issued an all operators' wire and looped in EASA, which worked up the directive. EASA's directive ordered the removal of affected parts, listed by serial number, before further flight. https://aviationweek.com/mro/safety-ops-regulation/unapproved-repair-triggers-cfm56-emergency-directive Chilean investigators to lead probe into LATAM Boeing flight that injured 50 SYDNEY/SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Investigators from Chile's aviation authority are headed to New Zealand to head up the probe into a sudden midair dive by a LATAM Airlines Boeing 787 plane that left more than 50 people injured, the country's regulator said Tuesday. The plane, which was headed from Sydney to Auckland, dropped abruptly in mid-air before stabilizing, causing passengers to be thrown about the cabin. One person was seriously injured, with about 50 suffering minor injuries. The cause of the apparent sudden change in trajectory of the flight has not yet been explained. Safety experts say most airplane accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors that need to be thoroughly investigated. Chile's DGAC aviation body said in a statement it will take the lead on the investigation under international rules governing aircraft accident investigations, known throughout the industry by their legal name "Annex 13". LATAM is based in Chile and the flight, which had 263 passengers and nine crew members, was due to continue on to Santiago after stopping in Auckland. New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission said on Tuesday it was seizing the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the flight. "My neighbour who was in the seat two over from me, there was a gap in between us, as soon as I woke I looked and he was on the ceiling and I thought I was dreaming," Brian Adam Jokat, a Canadian citizen residing in the UK who was travelling on the plane, said on Tuesday. DGAC is working with New Zealand's TAIC on the investigation. "TAIC is in the process of gathering evidence relevant to the inquiry, including seizing the cockpit voice and flight data recorders," the New Zealand agency said, referring to the so-called "black boxes" that will provide more information on the flight's trajectory and communications between pilots. LATAM did not respond to a request for comment on whether it had given the black boxes to TAIC. The airline said earlier on Tuesday it would assist the relevant authorities on any investigation into the "strong shake" during the flight. New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement it would also assist in the investigation if required. There has been renewed debate over the length of cockpit recordings in the aviation industry since the revelation that voice recorder data was overwritten on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet that lost a panel mid-flight in January. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zealand-says-seizing-black-boxes-015100357.html Frontier Airlines opens crew base at Cleveland airport CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Frontier Airlines and Cleveland Hopkins Airport are celebrating a new crew base at the airport Thursday morning. The base is expected to bring in up to 110 pilots, 250 flight attendants, and 50 aircraft maintenance personnel within its first year of operation, according to the airline. Combined with airport positions, the airline is expected to generate nearly $80 million annually in local wages with further growth anticipated in the coming years, the airline says. “We are grateful for the confidence Frontier has in the Cleveland market and for the economic boost that will follow from this investment,” said Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb. https://www.cleveland19.com/2024/03/14/frontier-airlines-opens-crew-base-cleveland-airport/ Europe regulator says it would pull Boeing approval if needed COLOGNE (Reuters) - The acting head of Europe’s aviation regulator said on Wednesday the agency would halt its indirect approval of Boeing’s jet production if warranted, but he feels reassured that the planemaker is tackling its latest safety crisis. Asked if EASA would be prepared to stop recognising U.S. production safety approvals declaring that Boeing jets are built safely, Tytgat said, "If need be, yes". Boeing has been under mounting pressure over factory quality control since Jan. 5, when a door plug tore off a 737 MAX 9 jet in mid-air in an incident blamed on missing bolts. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said last week an audit of Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems found multiple instances of poor controls. Under a transatlantic pact, the FAA and EASA regulate the factories of their respective planemakers - Boeing and Airbus - and recognise each other's safety approvals. However, if one side loses confidence in the other's compliance checks, it can call for consultations and, if those fail, suspend recognition after a pause of 30 days. Such steps are rare. "All the tools must be implementable as soon as we see the justification or situation that requires us to take appropriate measures," Tytgat said, adding that no such action was imminent. EASA's influence over the design of Boeing planes has grown following the MAX crashes, but it has relatively few ways to increase its monitoring of the production of existing Boeing models other than the drastic option of suspending recognition. Pressed on what would push EAA to go that far, Tytgat said, speaking only for himself, "More fatal accidents in the future". The FAA did not comment directly on the EASA remarks but a spokesperson reiterated the agency's earlier statements that Boeing must commit to “real and profound improvements”. Boeing did not comment. 'REASSURED' AFTER BOEING MEETING But Tytgat did not see any immediate threat to Boeing's production certification. "We don't see why (it) cannot be maintained today. It is more (about) the oversight and monitoring conditions that are in place." Tytgat said he held a discussion with senior Boeing executives on Friday that were reassuring. "I have seen a change in the management. They put a lot of weight on quality controls, product quality and I was really reassured about the willingness of the top management to change .... production quality control," he said. The FAA has invited EASA to attend an audit of Boeing plants as an observer later this year, the European agency said. But Tytgat ruled out a permanent presence, saying it would "not be in the spirit" of the transatlantic safety agreement. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said on Monday that the agency would take action if it saw a reason to halt Boeing production. A decision by either of the world's two most powerful aviation regulators to upend production approval of Boeing or Airbus jets would take the safety crisis into uncharted territory and likely stir political reactions, experts said. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/europe-regulator-says-it-would-pull-boeing-approval-if-needed/ar-BB1jST4N 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