Flight Safety Information - March 18, 2024 No. 056 In This Issue : Incident: KLM B739 at Amsterdam on Mar 15th 2024, flaps problems results in fuel emergency : Incident: Iberia A320 near Zaragoza on Mar 17th 2024, engine shut down in flight : Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 17 & 18 September - London : Accident: United B738 at Medford on Mar 15th 2024, dropped panel in flight : United and Southwest Airlines have an airplane problem : Boeing and Alaska Airlines deny liability in lawsuit over door plug blowout : FAA Introduces New Technology To Enhance Airport Surface Safety Nationwide : Boeing: How much trouble is the company in? : FAA should hire more independent investigators: Travel editor : Is Southwest Airlines About To Buy Another Airline? Its Pilots Seem To Think So : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: KLM B739 at Amsterdam on Mar 15th 2024, flaps problems results in fuel emergency A KLM Boeing 737-900, registration PH-BXS performing flight KL-1074 from Manchester,EN (UK) to Amsterdam (Netherlands), was on approach to Amsterdam's runway 27 when the crew initiated a missed approach at about 500 feet AGL reporting they had a flaps problem. The aircraft climbed back to 3000 feet, the crew worked the related checklists, but then declared emergency advising ATC they would land with only 30 minutes of fuel left. On final approach the crew reported the flaps were in the correct position now. The aircraft landed safely on runway 27 about 20 minutes after initiating the missed approach. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 9 hours before returning to service. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=51645131&opt=0 Incident: Iberia A320 near Zaragoza on Mar 17th 2024, engine shut down in flight An Iberia Airbus A320-200, registration EC-LVD performing flight IB-6493 from Geneva (Switzerland) to Madrid,SP (Spain), was enroute at FL350 about 180nm northeast of Zaragoza,SP (Spain) still in French Airspace when the crew declared emergency reporting engine (CFM56) problems and descended the aircraft to FL290. Subsequently the crew shut the engine down, drifted down and diverted to Zaragoza for a safe landing on runway 30R about 45 minutes after leaving FL350. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=51644ade&opt=0 Accident: United B738 at Medford on Mar 15th 2024, dropped panel in flight A United Boeing 737-800, registration N26226 performing flight UA-433 from San Francisco,CA to Medford,OR (USA) with 139 passengers and 6 crew, departed San Francisco's runway 01R, climbed to FL300 and completed a seemingly uneventful flight with a safe landing on Medford's runway 32 and taxied to the apron. A post flight inspection revealed parts of a panel of the left hand wing root fairing next to the main landing gear were missing from the aircraft. The airline reported after the aircraft had been parked, it was found missing an external panel. There was no indication of an anomaly in flight. The FAA reported: "United Airlines Flight 433 landed safely at Medford Airport in Oregon around 11:30 a.m. local time on Friday, March 15. A post landing airline inspection revealed a missing panel. The Boeing 737 departed from San Francisco International Airport. The FAA will investigate." Medford Airport reported the panel or debris has not been found within the airport perimeter. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=51634833&opt=0 United and Southwest Airlines have an airplane problem Both airlines are facing the same issue and anyone who travels should be worried. Airlines operate in a market that's dictated by supply and demand: If more people want to fly a specific route than there are available seats, then tickets on those flights cost more. That makes scheduling and predicting demand a huge part of maximizing revenue for airlines. There are, however, numerous factors that go into how airlines decide which flights to put on the schedule. Airlines generally do try to add capacity every year. That's become challenging as Boeing has struggled to keep up with demand for new airplanes. If you can't add airplanes, you can't grow your business. That's caused problems for the entire industry. Every airline retires planes each year. In general, those get replaced by newer, better models that offer more efficiency and, in most cases, better passenger amenities. If an airline can't get the planes it had hoped to add to its fleet in a given year, it can face capacity problems. And it's a problem that both Southwest Airlines (LUV) and United Airlines have addressed in a way that's inevitable but bad for passengers. Southwest Airlines has not been able to get the airplanes it had hoped to. Southwest slows down its pilot hiring In 2023, Southwest made a huge push to hire pilots. The airline lost thousands of pilots to retirement during the covid pandemic and it needed to replace them in order to build back to its 2019 capacity. The airline successfully did that but will not continue that trend in 2024. "Southwest plans to hire approximately 350 pilots this year, and no new-hire classes are scheduled after this month," Travel Weekly reported. "Last year, Southwest hired 1,916 pilots, according to pilot recruitment advisory firm Future & Active Pilot Advisors. The airline hired 1,140 pilots in 2022." The slowdown in hiring directly relates to the airline expecting to grow capacity only in the low-single-digits percent in 2024. "Moving into 2024, there is continued uncertainty around the timing of expected Boeing deliveries and the certification of the Max 7 aircraft. Our fleet plans remain nimble and currently differs from our contractual order book with Boeing," Southwest Airlines Chief Financial Officer Tammy Romo said during the airline's fourth-quarter-earnings call. "We are planning for 79 aircraft deliveries this year and expect to retire roughly 45 700 and 4 800, resulting in a net expected increase of 30 aircraft this year." That's very modest growth, which should not be enough of an increase in capacity to lower prices in any significant way. United Airlines pauses pilot hiring Boeing's (BA) struggles have had wide impact across the industry. United Airlines has also said it was going to pause hiring new pilots through the end of May. United (UAL) Fight Operations Vice President Marc Champion explained the situation in a memo to the airline's staff. "As you know, United has hundreds of new planes on order, and while we remain on path to be the fastest-growing airline in the industry, we just won't grow as fast as we thought we would in 2024 due to continued delays at Boeing," he said. "For example, we had contractual deliveries for 80 Max 10s this year alone, but those aircraft aren't even certified yet, and it's impossible to know when they will arrive." That's another blow to consumers hoping that multiple major carriers would grow capacity, putting pressure on fares. Until Boeing can get back on track, it's unlikely that competition between the large airlines will lead to lower fares. In fact, it's possible that consumer demand will grow more than airline capacity which could push prices higher. https://www.thestreet.com/travel/southwest-and-united-airlines-have-bad-news-for-passengers Boeing and Alaska Airlines deny liability in lawsuit over door plug blowout The legal filings represent the first formal response from each company to any of at least three lawsuits filed in the wake of the Jan. 5 incident. Boeing and Alaska Airlines have separately denied any legal responsibility for the injuries allegedly caused to dozens of passengers after a door plug blew out of a 737-Max 9 jet during a flight in January. In its formal answers this week to a class-action lawsuit brought by dozens of passengers of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, Boeing generally acknowledged the preliminary findings of a National Transportation Safety Board investigation that determined the door plug was improperly installed. The company also acknowledged that, in an interview with CNBC, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun publicly described the incident as “our mistake.” But Boeing denied liability for any damages alleged by the passengers, saying their lawsuit should be dismissed. The company also contended it cannot be held responsible for any injuries that may have resulted because its products were “improperly maintained, or misused by persons and/or entities other than Boeing.” Likewise, Alaska Airlines denied liability, claiming that any injuries stemming from the door plug blowout “were caused by the fault of persons or entities over whom Alaska Airlines has no control … including Defendant The Boeing Company and/or non-party Spirit AeroSystems.” Alaska Airlines also denied that the activation of the plane’s cabin-pressure warning light three times within the previous month — including on the day before the door incident — was related or meant that the plane was unsafe to fly. The legal filings, submitted as part of the case in the U.S. District Court in Seattle, represent the first formal response from the companies to any of the several lawsuits filed in the wake of the Jan. 5 incident. Daniel Laurence, an attorney representing passengers who are part of the class action, said Wednesday he was “frankly surprised” that Boeing and Alaska Airlines “don’t want to simply admit liability and put this case behind them.” “They’re putting up a wall and circling the wagons,” added Laurence, with the Strimatter Kessler Koehler Moore law firm in Seattle. “That’s disappointing, given what I think most of the population believes and the evidence appears to clearly support — that they put this aircraft into the air with an unsecured door plug that, had it come out a few minutes later, would have killed everybody on board.” The incident occurred shortly after the Boeing-manufactured jet, carrying 171 passengers and six flight crew members, took off from Portland International Airport bound for Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County, California. After reaching an altitude of about 16,000 feet, the door plug blew out, leaving a large hole in the plane’s fuselage and forcing the plane to turn back to Portland, where it landed safely. Following the incident, which has brought new scrutiny to Boeing and its troubled 737 Max airplanes, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded some models of the plane. The NTSB investigation preliminarily found no bolts had been installed to secure the plug. The FAA separately launched an audit into Boeing and its supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, finding “multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.” The Department of Justice has also separately opened a criminal probe into the door plug blowout, according to a source familiar with the investigation. In the wake of the incident, at least three separate lawsuits have been filed by Flight 1282 passengers and their spouses, including cases in state courts in Washington and Oregon. Passengers involved in the federal lawsuit, seeking class-action status, claim they were physically injured and traumatized by the door plug’s blowout, which caused rapid depressurization of the plane’s cabin and led to widespread panic. “The pressure change made ears bleed and combined with low oxygen, loud wind noise and traumatic stress made heads ache severely,” the lawsuit states. “Passengers were shocked, terrorized and confused, thrust into a waking nightmare, hoping they would live long enough to walk the earth again.” Since the incident, some passengers have avoided flying on any airplane, and some have sought counseling to deal with emotional trauma, Laurence said. The lawsuit also alleges that several passengers had trouble breathing in the aftermath of the door plug blowout because oxygen masks that dropped during the incident weren’t functioning. Alaska Airlines denied that any oxygen masks did not work in its filing this week. The airline acknowledged that the jet’s auto cabin pressure controller light had activated three times before the door plug blowout, leading Alaska Airlines to restrict the plane from flying on long routes over water. But the airline disputed that the light warnings “made the aircraft unsafe to fly (and) denies any correlation between the pressurization controller warning light activations and the door plug accident on Flight 1282,” its filing says. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/boeing-alaska-airlines-blame-each-other-lawsuit-door-plug-blowout-rcna143296 FAA Introduces New Technology To Enhance Airport Surface Safety Nationwide On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the implementation of a new surface safety tool that warns air traffic controllers when an approaching aircraft is not lined up on its assigned runway. The FAA outlined plans to deploy Approach Runway Verification (ARV) technology at several airports across the U.S. this year through 2025, with Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) the latest to adopt the solution. “A safe National Airspace System begins and ends on the airport surface,” said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker in a press release. “Providing controllers with tools such as Approach Runway Verification will improve their situational awareness of the airport surface, which is paramount to improving safety.” According to the FAA, ARV is one of three surface situational awareness solutions under the agency’s accelerated surface safety initiative. The other two components include the Runway Incursion Device (RID) and the Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI). Developing and deploying these technologies is part of the FAA’s solution to mitigate near-miss occurrences in response to last year’s Safety Call to Action. In addition to implementing new technology, the FAA is taking steps to improve safety through measures including hiring more air traffic controllers, installing upgraded tower simulator systems in facilities nationwide, conducting routine runway safety action team meetings, and investing millions into runway lighting and surface improvements at U.S. airports. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-introduces-new-technology-to-enhance-airport-surface-safety-nationwide/ Boeing: How much trouble is the company in? "It's as if I'm watching a troubled child" is how Captain Dennis Tajer describes flying a Boeing 737 Max. The head of the Allied Pilots Association, the pilots union for American Airlines, insists he would never board an aircraft if it were not safe. But he says he can no longer take the quality of the plane he's flying for granted. "I'm at an alert status that I've never had to be in on a Boeing airplane," he says. "Because I don't trust that they've followed the processes that have previously kept me safe on Boeing airplanes for over three decades." Executives at the aerospace giant's shiny new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia could be forgiven for feeling like they are under siege. Every day seems to bring more bad headlines for the company, which is coming under pressure from regulators and airlines, and has seen its reputation badly damaged. The trouble began in January, when a disused emergency exit door blew off a brand new Boeing 737 Max shortly after take-off from Portland International Airport. An initial report from the US National Transportation Safety Board concluded that four bolts meant to attach the door securely to the aircraft had not been fitted. Boeing is reportedly facing a criminal investigation into the incident itself, as well as legal action from passengers aboard the plane. But although no-one was seriously hurt, the affair had much wider repercussions. It cast a harsh spotlight on the aerospace giant's corporate culture and attitude to safety. Five years ago Boeing faced one of the biggest scandals in its history, after two brand new 737 Max planes were lost in almost identical accidents that cost 346 lives. The cause was flawed flight control software, details of which it was accused of deliberately concealing from regulators. The company agreed to pay $2.5bn (£1.8bn) to settle fraud charges, and admitted deception, though in later court hearings it formally pleaded not guilty. It subsequently faced widespread accusations that it had put profits ahead of passengers' lives. It reaffirmed its commitment to safety, and in early 2020 its newly appointed chief executive Dave Calhoun promised it could "do better. Much better." Yet the scrutiny that followed the incident in January this year has called that commitment into question. Addressing those concerns, Mr Calhoun said: "We will go slow, we will not rush the system and we will take our time to do it right." Boeing's mid-air blowout puts safety record in spotlight again Mid-flight blowout a big problem for Boeing Earlier this month the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, said that a six-week audit of the 737 Max production process at Boeing and its supplier Spirit Aerosystems had found "multiple instances where the companies failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements". The findings came shortly after another report into Boeing's safety culture by an expert panel found a "disconnect" between senior management and regular staff, as well as signs that staff were hesitant about reporting problems for fear of retaliation. Adam Dickson, a former senior manager at Boeing who once worked on the 737 Max programme, agrees there is a gulf between executives and workers on the factory floor. "The culture at Boeing has been toxic to trust for over a decade now," he says. "You can add safety steps, you can add procedures. But the fundamental issue of distrust makes those changes almost ineffective", he claims. Meanwhile, further evidence of how production problems could endanger safety emerged this week. The FAA warned that improperly installed wiring bundles on 737 Max planes could become damaged, leading to controls on the wings deploying unexpectedly, and making the aircraft start to roll. If not addressed, it said, this "could result in loss of control of the airplane". Hundreds of planes already in service will have to be checked as a result. Boeing said based on the FAA audit it was continuing "to implement immediate changes and develop a comprehensive action plan to strengthen safety and quality, and build the confidence of our customers and their passengers." The sign outside Boeing HQ in Florida A recent report found a "disconnect" between Boeing senior management and regular staff But concerns about Boeing's production standards are far from new. Whistleblower John Barnett, who was found dead last weekend, had worked at Boeing's factory in South Carolina from 2010 until his retirement in 2017. A quality manager on the 787 Dreamliner programme, he had claimed the rush to build planes as quickly as possible in order to maximise profits had led to unsafe practices. Among a number of allegations, he told the BBC that in some cases under-pressure workers had deliberately fitted substandard parts to planes on the production line. Boeing denied his claims. But his untimely death, which occurred between legal hearings in a lawsuit against the company, has focused new attention on them. The crisis at the aerospace giant is now causing problems for airlines. Ryanair has warned that delays to new aircraft deliveries will push up prices for passengers in Europe this summer. US carrier Southwest plans to cut its capacity this year because it can't get hold of the planes it needs. Some carriers may try to obtain Airbus models to replace the lost Boeings. But a wholesale transfer of orders from the American manufacturer to the European is simply impractical. Both have very full order books. Airbus has a backlog of more than 8,000 planes and Boeing more than 6,000. Airlines are already having to wait longer than they would like for new aircraft. Airbus has had its own supply chain problems, leading to late deliveries. There is a potential third player. The Chinese manufacturer Comac has developed the C919, a plane designed to compete with the 737 Max and the A320 neo. But that programme is still in its infancy. By 2028 it will be producing only 150 aircraft a year. In other words, the market needs Boeing to be healthy, and to overcome its current problems quickly. So can that happen? According to Ed Pierson, executive director at the Foundation for Aviation Safety, the issues involved are complex, but fixable. Himself a former Boeing whistleblower, he has spent years lobbying regulators to take a firm approach to the company. "Boeing, their suppliers, airlines, and government agencies are capable of overcoming these challenges, but the first step in fixing these problems is being honest," he says "They need to admit these problems exist and stop trying to spin the truth. The more they spin, the longer it takes to solve the problems and the greater the risk." Boeing says that over the last several years, it has "never hesitated to slow down, to halt production, or to stop deliveries to take the time we need to get things right". It added that it has launched a "Speak Up" programme encouraging staff to raise issues that need to be addressed. https://www.yahoo.com/news/boeing-much-trouble-company-021120823.html Redding man arrested for pointing laser at aircraft REDDING, Calif. — A Redding man has been arrested for shining a laser at aircraft at the Redding Airport on Wednesday night, the Shasta County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) announced. At around 10:40 p.m. on Wednesday night, March 13, the SCSO says they received a report of a suspect shining a green laser pointer at several aircraft during take-off and landing. The SCSO says they were advised by the Redding Aircraft Control Team that the laser's location was near Primrose Avenue and Fig Tree Lane. Deputies then responded to the area and reportedly found several people in the backyard of a home near the 20,000 block of Fig Tree Ln. They say deputies contacted Michael Ybarra, 36, who admitted to shining the laser at the aircraft. The SCSO says Ybarra was also found to be on felony probation out of Shasta County for grant theft. Ultimately, the sheriff's office says Ybarra was arrested and booked into the Shasta County Jail for discharging a laser at an aircraft and for violating the terms of his probation. In their press release of the incident on Thursday night, the SCSO wrote a reminder to the community that pointing a laser at an occupied aircraft, while in motion or in flight, is punishable as a felony with a maximum sentence of three years in prison. https://krcrtv.com/news/local/redding-man-arrested-for-pointing-laser-at-aircraft FAA should hire more independent investigators: Travel editor (NewsNation) — Boeing is facing scrutiny, and customers say they’re more reluctant to fly on their jets, after a series of recent incidents in the headlines lately, including when a plane plunged midair on a flight to New Zealand last week. At least 50 people were treated at the scene for mostly mild injuries, while another 13 were hospitalized. Earlier this year, travelers were alarmed when a door panel blew out of the side of one Boeing plane during an Alaska Airlines flight. ‘It would be devastating’: TikTok creator reacts to possible ban “Well, most of the incidents that have been reported are normal, actually, if you think about the number of operations we’re dealing with,” Travel editor Peter Greenberg said on “Morning in America” Sunday. “Consider this month alone, United Airlines will have 131,000 departures, of which there might have been four incidents that were not life-threatening in any way — but they’re being reported more now because we’re so hypersensitive about flying on particular Boeing aircraft.” Still, Greenberg said, that doesn’t take away from the need for more federal inspection and oversight, “which is the exact problem that started this thing in the first place.” “The FAA needs to get their act together,” Greenberg said. “They need to hire more independent investigators to do the job that they should have been doing since the since the agency was established back in 1935.” https://www.newsnationnow.com/travel/faa-should-hire-more-independent-investigators-travel-editor/ Is Southwest Airlines About To Buy Another Airline? Its Pilots Seem To Think So The Southwest Airlines pilot union is hiring several law firms in preparation for the carrier potentially acquiring another airline. Here’s a message that the union sent to Southwest pilots: Last month, SWAPA made the decision to retain several law firms if Southwest attempts to acquire another carrier. One of those firms would be an experienced labor firm tasked with protecting SWAPA Pilots in a seniority list integration. The second — and possibly third — firm would handle the business and equity side of the transaction to ensure our Pilots were invested in the capital of the new entity. In 2010, then-SWAPA President Carl Kuwitsky and then-CEO Gary Kelly failed to follow Delta/Northwest’s lead in allowing the Pilots to be equity partners in the transaction when Southwest acquired AirTran. SWAPA will not make that mistake again. Southwest Airlines If the pilot union has been brought into a discussion of a possible merger, it needs to take great care not to breach confidentiality obligations. The message to pilots continues, “neither I, nor anyone at SWAPA, have any knowledge of an acquisition or merger in Southwest Airlines’ future” however “hope is not a strategy.” The union certainly thinks a merger or acquisition is in the offing for the airline. Enilria comments, “The most likely party, by far, and one that was already highly rumored is JetBlue.” While the two carriers (JetBlue and Southwest) have limited non-stop overlap, Southwest is already the nation’s largest domestic carrier and a merger of this sort would be a competitive tragedy in my opinion. …Southwest likely sees JetBlue’s slot portfolio as extremely complimentary and in an unusual move Southwest exited many overlapping international routes from Ft Lauderdale (FLL), possibly to allow a merger to sail through more easily. With Carl Icahn having taken a stake in JetBlue and getting board seats, a sale of the carrier – in whole or pieces – is certainly on the table. Southwest has been struggling financially, but has the financial wherewithal to do this deal. They’re strong in congested airports in New York and Boston and has a strong presence in Florida where – international routes aside – Southwest is strong as well. Such a merger would almost certainly face substantial opposition from a Biden administration Department of Justice. Some observers, then, would tend to rate its chances as dependent on the outcome of the presidential election. However baked into that assumption is the shaky belief that a second Trump Presidency would be similar to the first, placing ‘normie’ Republicans in positions of authority. Economic nationalists rather than pro-business or pro-market leaders seem far more likely. Perhaps JetBlue, with its antitrust concerns, Airbus fleet, and incompatible product would be too ambitious. Enilria notes that a smaller acquisition of Sun Country and its Boeing 737 fleet could be possible. It would help to alleviate fleet constraints caused by Boeing production and regulatory problems. https://viewfromthewing.com/is-southwest-airlines-about-to-buy-another-airline-its-pilots-seem-to-think-so/ 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 • International Congress of Aerospace Medicine ICAM 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal, 3 - 5 October 2024, • 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition - Oct. 22-24 (Vegas) Curt Lewis