Flight Safety Information - July 31, 2026 No. 149 In This Issue : Incident: Japan Transocean B738 at Komatsu on Jul 30th 2026, rejected takeoff due to bird strike : Incident: Skywest CRJ7 at Chicago on Jul 27th 2026, hail strike : Incident: Sunstate DH8D and Qantas B738 at Sydney on Jul 27th 2026, clearance to cross runway with aircraft in landing roll : Incident: LATAM Brasil A321 at Brasilia on Jul 29th 2026, bird strike : NTSB: Pilot’s management of overweight plane in icy weather led to Bering Air crash that killed 10 : FAA enables ATC clearance via EFBs : Drugged Malaysian pilot risks death penalty for smuggling in Indonesia : Russia revokes Izhavia's air operator certificate over serious safety violations : Air India’s Fuel Switch Passed Every Test : A Sensor Failure Stripped an A320’s Stall Protection : Gulfstream G700 Beats the Fastest Civilian Aircraft in the Sky at Its Own Game, Sets New Record : Deputy FAA administrator to leave agency : Cessna’s Newest Light Jet Just Completed Its First Flight : Calendar of Events Incident: Japan Transocean B738 at Komatsu on Jul 30th 2026, rejected takeoff due to bird strike A Japan Transocean Airlines Boeing 737-800 on behalf of JAL Japan Airlines, registration JA01RK performing flight JL-182 from Komatsu to Tokyo Haneda (Japan) with 160 people on board, was accelerating for takeoff from Komatsu's runway 24 when an engine (CFM56) ingested a bird prompting the crew to reject takeoff at high speed. The aircraft slowed safely and returned to the apron. The flight was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto later flights. The aircraft is still on the ground in Komatsu about 19 hours after the rejected takeoff. https://avherald.com/h?article=53c7db12&opt=0 Incident: Skywest CRJ7 at Chicago on Jul 27th 2026, hail strike A Skywest Canadair CRJ-700 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N608SK performing flight AA-5007 from Chicago O'Hare,IL to Wichita,KS (USA), was climbing out of Chicago's runway 22L when the crew stopped the climb at 17000 feet and decided to divert to South Bend,IN (USA), where the aircraft landed on runway 18 about 35 minutes after departure. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED HAIL, RETURNED TO AIRPORT AND POST FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO NOSE CONE, WING AND ENGINE COWLING, SOUTH BEND, IN." The aircraft is still on the ground in South Bend 3 days later. https://avherald.com/h?article=53c7d6cf&opt=0 Incident: Sunstate DH8D and Qantas B738 at Sydney on Jul 27th 2026, clearance to cross runway with aircraft in landing roll A Sunstate Airlines de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration VH-QOC performing flight QF-1424 from Canberra,AC to Sydney,NS (Australia), landed on Sydney's runway 34L and was in the landing roll. A Qantas Boeing 737-800, registration VH-XZG performing flight QF-124 from Queenstown (New Zealand) to Sydney,NS (Australia), had landed on Sydney's runway 34R and was taxiing to the apron, when ATC cleared the aircraft to cross runway 34L. The controller noticed the resulting conflict and advised both crews, the Boeing stopped after the holding point and short of the runway edge. The ATSB rated the occurrence a serious incident and opened an investigation. https://avherald.com/h?article=53c7d285&opt=0 Incident: LATAM Brasil A321 at Brasilia on Jul 29th 2026, bird strike A LATAM Brasil Airbus A321-200, registration PT-XPF performing flight LA-3776 from Brasilia,DF to Salvador,BA (Brazil), was climbing out of Brasilia's runway 11L when the aircraft collided with a number birds, the left hand engine subsequently emitted white smoke. The crew stopped the climb at 6000 feet and returned to Brasilia for a safe landing on runway 11R about 30 minutes after departure, vacated the runway and stopped for about 15 minutes clear of the runway before continuing to the apron. The rotation was cancelled. The airline reported the aircraft returned to Brasilia due to a bird strike. https://avherald.com/h?article=53c7c30e&opt=0 NTSB: Pilot’s management of overweight plane in icy weather led to Bering Air crash that killed 10 Poor pilot control in severe icing conditions on an overloaded plane caused a Bering Air plane to stall and crash on sea ice near Nome last year, killing all aboard, according to a probable cause finding issued by federal officials Thursday. The Feb. 6, 2025, crash of the single-engine Cessna Grand Caravan, which occurred during a commuter flight from Unalakleet to Nome, killed the pilot and all nine passengers in one of Alaska’s deadliest civilian aviation accidents in decades. The official findings from the National Transportation Safety Board largely mirrored investigative documents released previously and a preliminary report the agency issued about a month after the crash. But the final report also faulted Bering Air for underreporting aircraft weight loads in its records and allowing flights to take off carrying more weight than allowed. “Just like any accident we investigate, it’s no one single cause,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in an interview Thursday. “In this one, we had a variety of issues, including chronic underreporting of weight on not just this aircraft but other aircraft that Bering Air was operating. In this case, this plane was overloaded by about 1,000 pounds, which is pretty significant.” Bering Air already faces several wrongful death lawsuits filed this year by multiple families of passengers who died in the crash. They accuse the company of knowingly flying an overweight plane into dangerous conditions. Six of the passengers were returning from jobs in Unalakleet, including Anchorage-area engineers working on a water plant and a Mat-Su educator. The other passengers and the pilot, Chad Antill, were residents of Unalakleet or Nome. A Bering Air official said the company had no comment on the report when contacted by a reporter Thursday. An attorney representing Bering Air in lawsuits filed in connection to the crash didn’t respond to a message seeking reaction to the findings. Bering Air, in operation since 1979, serves 32 villages in Western Alaska from hubs in Nome, Kotzebue and Unalakleet. Stall follows icy conditions On the day of the flight, forecasters issued weather advisories and said a large weather front over Western Alaska created the potential for ice buildup on the plane as it neared the Nome Airport, according to the NTSB’s preliminary investigation findings. Antill had also expressed concerns about overweight flights prior to the crash. The flight took off from Unalakleet just before 2:40 p.m., weighing more than 1,000 pounds over the so-called “maximum gross takeoff weight” for flying in known icing conditions, the NTSB said in the preliminary report. The flight was the final of a three-leg round trip, officials said. In Thursday’s report, officials said Antill and a Bering Air dispatcher reviewed the weather forecast before the flight and didn’t identify any concerns. Antill activated the plane’s de-icing system after it began experiencing “severe icing conditions” about 40 minutes into the flight, according to the probable cause findings. As the plane approached Nome, an air traffic controller contacted Antill to inform him that the airport’s runways were temporarily closed to be de-iced and that he could decrease his speed to time his landing to when the runways were reopening, NTSB officials said in the final report. The aircraft’s speed fluctuated over several minutes, starting at 160 knots and decreasing to 99 knots, which resulted in a low speed alert and the autopilot system being turned off, officials said. The plane quickly lost altitude as its speed continued to decrease with its nose pitched up between 10 and 12 degrees, which officials said was likely the result of Antill’s working the plane’s controls. An air traffic controller told Antill to climb to 4,000 feet at about 3:20 p.m. after the plane dropped to 3,100 feet and its speed was measured at 70 knots. Seconds later, the controller contacted Antill again but didn’t receive a response. The aircraft crashed about 32 miles east of the airport, according to the report. Antill was overwhelmed by the number of challenges — icing on the plane and having to adjust plans while maintaining a safe speed — before taking actions that led to the plane entering an aerodynamic stall, Homendy said. “Here, he could have taken other actions where that could have been prevented, but it got away from him, and all of a sudden it stalls and he’s descending at 5,000 feet per minute,” she said. U.S. Coast Guard rescuers found the plane’s wreckage the next day. Killed in the crash were pilot and Nome resident Antill, 34; Eagle River resident JaDee Moncur, 52; Anchorage resident Ian Hofmann, 45; Anchorage resident Rhone Baumgartner, 46; Anchorage resident Kameron Hartvigson, 41; Wasilla resident Andrew Gonzalez, 30; Unalakleet resident Talaluk Driscoll LaRoi Katchatag, 34; Unalakleet resident Carol Mendiola Mooers, 48; Nome resident Donnell Erickson, 58; and Wasilla resident Liane Ryan, 52. “We determined that the probable cause of this accident was the pilot’s inadequate airspeed management due to workload and degraded situation awareness and his improper inputs leading up to and during the aerodynamic stall," according to the final report. “Also causal was operation of the airplane above maximum gross weight, which reduced the airplane’s stall margin.” Another cause of the crash, the NTSB said, was Bering Air’s “inadequate safety management, which allowed the routine operation of flights that exceeded weight limitations.” The company had allowed overloaded flights to take off for days — if not longer — leading up to the fatal crash, according to the preliminary report. The culture at Bering Air, Homendy said, resulted in chronically overloaded aircraft taking off, as well as employees keeping inaccurate or made-up weight records. Pilots felt a “constant push for more cargo to get on board” and pressure to fly in dangerous conditions, she said. Some Bering Air flights had been flying by as much as 1,400 pounds over their limit, Homendy said. “This wasn’t just a simple error because a simple error is a one-off, maybe two,” she said. “This was constant.” NTSB officials said inadequate Federal Aviation Administration oversight of the air carrier was also a factor. Crash prompts changes, recommendations The air carrier has made significant changes since the crash, according to a general operations manual update filed with the investigation docket. Those include new procedures that require a manager to sign off on departures in potentially dangerous weather; limits on total takeoff weight; and delaying, canceling or switching to different planes for Cessna Caravan flights into known icing conditions or switched to different planes. Thursday’s report, which is the NTSB’s final action in connection to the incident, also recommended a host of policy changes the Federal Aviation Administration could implement to help prevent future accidents. The NTSB repeated previous recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration as a result of the crash, such as requiring Part 135 airlines like Bering Air to use certified dispatchers and to install aircraft recording systems with flight data monitoring program capability. It also called for the FAA to expand flight load recordkeeping requirements to air carriers like Bering Air and to require Part 135 operators to use crash-resistant flight data recorders in their planes. Two additional recommendations were included in the final report. The NTSB called for pilots with carriers like Bering Air to be better trained for situations like a stall, and for federal aviation regulators to provide stricter oversight of Part 135 carriers that are rapidly growing, undertaking increasingly complex operations, or experience an accident. In Bering Air’s case, Homendy said it was rapidly growing amid Ravn’s bankruptcy and continued financial struggles. Ravn filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020 but continued to struggle after a restructuring before shutting down last year. The FAA, according to the NTSB’s Thursday statement, failed to increase oversight of Bering Air as the company expanded. The NTSB’s recommendations didn’t apply to single operators to avoid burdening the smallest operations, Homendy said. “Aviation is the lifeline in Alaska. It’s everything from food, medicine, people seeing people, work, you name it,” she said. “The recommendations we issued today ... are common sense safety improvements. Hopefully they will be implemented. I hope they’re taken seriously.” https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/aviation/2026/07/30/ntsb-pilots-management-of-overweight-plane-in-icy-weather-led-to-bering-air-crash-that-killed-10/ FAA enables ATC clearance via EFBs Mobile Clearance Delivery to expand nationwide beginning in 2027 The FAA has released a new program that enables general aviation pilots to request, receive, and cancel instrument flight rules clearances directly in ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot—with no radio or phone calls required. Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau announced the release of Mobile Clearance Delivery at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin. The agency says the new procedure “is part of the FAA’s effort to modernize communications between pilots and air traffic controllers to improve safety and efficiency.” “When we think about the ability to take roughly 15,000 IFR clearances a day and change that into a text... it really is our ability to kind of lower the readback errors and some of the other problems we're having and just send out that visual clearance, accept, and go,” said Rocheleau. The FAA worked with the makers of ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot—the two most popular electronic flight bag applications—to integrate Mobile Clearance Delivery, which will benefit pilots and air traffic controllers. Mobile Clearance Delivery is cloud-based and does not require expensive, proprietary technology, enabling the FAA to roll it out across the country quickly. “The technology that drives this capability is cloud-based, and what that means is that the hardware that’s required for an FAA facility is very inexpensive, it’s low-cost, and very easy for the FAA to install,” said FAA Mobile Clearance Delivery Program Manager Jillian Cheng. “I think mobile clearance is going to save pilots a lot of time. I’m based at an uncontrolled field, so instead of calling Chicago Center and getting my clearance... writing it down, reading it down, and then plugging it into the avionics… there’s no chance for error in jotting it down or importing it into the avionics, so it saves me time," said Garmin Senior Aviation Marketing Manager Kyle Ludwick. “It’s been more than a year in close coordination with the FAA with partner MITRE as well, working on the experience both for pilots and for controllers to collaborate more closely,” said ForeFlight Head of Flight Deck Travis Root. Root said Mobile Clearance Delivery is available 30 minutes prior to departure time and up to one hour and 45 minutes after. “It’s designed to be very intuitive. You need a minimum of instruction. Most pilots will encounter it for the first time without having read ahead and we wanted it to be easy to use right out of the box with no familiarity and I think that we’ve achieved that,” added Root. Mobile Clearance Delivery is currently available at five airports, including three in the Houston area: Appleton International Airport, Wisconsin David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport, Texas Sugar Land Regional Airport, Texas Scholes International at Galveston Airport, Texas New Century Aircenter Airport, Kansas Ludwick said he tested Mobile Clearance Delivery prior to AirVenture in Appleton. “I flew up there and tested it with the team from the FAA and MITRE and was so excited to sit in the FBO or do a bunch of testing... but then also receive a clearance to fly home in my own airplane. It worked absolutely seamlessly,” said Ludwick. The FAA plans to add additional locations in Kansas City, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; and Austin, Texas, in the fall, ahead of a nationwide deployment in the spring of 2027. In the coming months, the FAA will also add the capability for pilots to cancel an IFR clearance after landing at a nontowered airport—eliminating the need for a phone call to ATC. Cheng says the reaction at AirVenture was “overwhelmingly positive,” noting that pilots and air traffic controllers “cannot wait to use this.” https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2026/july/30/faa-enables-atc-clearance-via-efbs Drugged Malaysian pilot risks death penalty for smuggling in Indonesia In a statement Friday, Malaysia Airlines said it took the allegations seriously and had launched an internal review. Jakarta – A Malaysian pilot who tested positive for meth, MDMA and cocaine after flying a passenger plane to Indonesia risks the death penalty for allegedly smuggling more than 70,000 ecstasy tablets in his suitcase, officials said Friday. The 39-year-old pilot, identified only by his initials, MSO, was arrested Wednesday at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta international airport shortly after arriving from Kuala Lumpur. The airport customs office did not say which carrier the pilot worked for, but the flight number indicated it was a Malaysia Airlines plane. “The results of his urine test came back positive for meth, MDMA, and cocaine. So, at the time of the flight, he was under the influence,” Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang, an official at the airport customs office, told reporters in the Indonesian capital. “What concerns all of us is that this person’s profession is a pilot, and at the time he arrived, he had just flown that plane from Kuala Lumpur to Indonesia,” he said. Customs officials found 14 bags of ecstasy — more than 70,000 pills — in the pilot’s suitcase and 4 grams of meth, thought to be for personal use, in his hand luggage. Hengky said the pilot likely did not expect to be checked in the special customs lane for pilots and crew, “but the monitoring we carry out is the same” for everyone. In a statement to investigators, the man said this was the third time he had attempted to smuggle drugs, the second to Indonesia and once in Malaysia. Awaludin said the police suspected MSO to be part of an international syndicate, and he has been charged with smuggling. Under Indonesian law, he risks the death penalty or life imprisonment. Indonesia has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers, but has maintained a moratorium on executions for several years. The pilot told investigators he had been promised some 50,000 Malaysian ringgit (just over $12,000) to deliver the narcotics in Jakarta. Malaysia Airlines, in a statement Friday, said it took the allegations seriously and had launched an internal review. “Malaysia Airlines will extend its full cooperation to the relevant authorities in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations,” it said. The carrier declined further comment pending the Indonesian investigation. There are dozens of foreign traffickers on death row in Indonesia, hundreds altogether. The Muslim-majority Southeast Asian country last carried out the death sentence for drug offenses in 2016, when one Indonesian and three Nigerians were executed by firing squad. Two British men were sentenced in March to nine and 11 years in prison, respectively, after they were found guilty of smuggling cocaine onto the tourist island of Bali. In June, the Bali police arrested two Russian nationals for attempting to smuggle nearly 8 kilograms of hashish to the resort island. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/07/31/asia-pacific/malaysia-drug-smuggling-pilot/ Russia revokes Izhavia's air operator certificate over serious safety violations Rosaviatsiya annulled the Udmurtia-based carrier's air operator certificate effective August 1. The decision, irreversible under Russian law, follows inspections that found incomplete maintenance, work schedule irregularities, and a deficient safety management system. Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) has revoked the air operator certificate of regional carrier Izhavia, effective August 1, 2026. The airline, owned by the government of the Udmurt Republic and based at Izhevsk Airport, must immediately suspend all commercial operations and ticket sales. The decision was formalized on July 28 through an order signed by the agency's head, Dmitry Yadrov, following a re-inspection conducted between July 20 and 23. That audit confirmed the company had not corrected the deficiencies identified during a preventive visit by Rostransnadzor between late March and mid-April. Among the most serious irregularities was the authorization of flights for a Yak-42 (registration RA-42455) following incomplete maintenance, as the aircraft operated four commercial flights without the necessary checks. The inspection also uncovered systemic failures in the Safety Management System (SMS), violations of crew work and rest regulations, excessive shifts for technical personnel, and falsified attendance records. There were also prior cases of flaps not deploying on Boeing 737-800s without the corresponding reports. Russia revokes Izhavia's air operator certificate over serious safety violations Since late April, Izhavia had been operating under a restricted certificate and had until July 28 to remedy the situation. The corrective action plan it submitted did not satisfy regulators. The company operated a reduced fleet: two Boeing 737-800s and four Yak-42D aircraft, with an average age of around 26 years. It operated domestic routes from Izhevsk to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, and other Russian cities. In 2025 it carried nearly 680,000 passengers, although the first half of 2026 already showed a decline of more than 26%. Nearly 46,000 tickets sold through February 1, 2027, were affected. Passengers will be rebooked on flights operated by other Russian airlines, primarily Rossiya (part of the Aeroflot Group) and S7 Airlines, although agreements with Aeroflot, Red Wings, Nordwind and possible transfers to Pobeda, NordStar, and Smartavia have also been mentioned. Affected passengers can request a full refund. Under current Russian legislation, a revoked air operator certificate cannot be reinstated. Udmurtia's authorities are now evaluating the separate privatization of the company and Izhevsk Airport —which is also part of its structure— or selling the company as a legal entity to apply for a new certificate. The Boeing 737-800s are the most attractive assets for the market, while the Yak-42s could be allocated to other regional operators or used for spare parts. The case is part of a broader context of increased scrutiny over Russian regional airlines. Following an An-24 crash involving Angara Airlines in late 2025, authorities launched inspections of 51 operators. Western sanctions, which disrupted the supply of original parts for Western-built aircraft, along with the authorization of uncertified components, have further complicated the maintenance of aging fleets. Rosaviatsiya stressed that aviation safety “does not tolerate laxity” and that without an effective management system, an airline has no future in the market. For its part, the Udmurtia government stated that the suspension will allow the company to be “restructured,” strengthen safety standards, and ensure service continuity through the leasing of its aircraft to third-party operators. https://www.aviacionline.com/english/commercial-aviation/europe/russia/russia-revokes-izhavia-s-air-operator-certificate-over-serious-safety-violations_a6a6bdbe672ebf7a48e9b5cda Air India’s Fuel Switch Passed Every Test On 30 July 2026, India's government told Parliament something that, more than a year after the Air India 171 disaster, only makes the central mystery harder to solve: the Boeing 787's fuel control switches — the very components at the heart of the investigation — show no defect. The finding matters because those two small switches are, so far, the only thing investigators know went wrong. On 12 June 2025, Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 registered VT-ANB, lifted off from Ahmedabad bound for London Gatwick and crashed roughly 32 seconds later into a medical-college hostel about 1.7 kilometres beyond the runway. Of the 242 people on board, 241 died; another 19 were killed on the ground. A single passenger survived. The preliminary report established that, seconds after lift-off, both engine fuel control switches moved from RUN to CUTOFF, one after the other, starving both engines of fuel. Why they moved has never been explained. The latest testing rules out one answer — a faulty switch — without supplying another. Flight Air India AI171, Ahmedabad to London Gatwick Aircraft Boeing 787-8, VT-ANB (12 years old) Date 12 June 2025 Toll 260 killed, including 19 on the ground Survivors 1 of 242 on board Core finding Both fuel switches moved RUN to CUTOFF seconds after take-off New (July 2026) No defect found in the switch or its locking detents Still open Thrust control module under examination at Boeing; cause not established What the government said Speaking to Parliament, Deputy Civil Aviation Minister Murlidhar Mohol said that a detailed examination of the fuel control switch — including the structural integrity of its locking detents, the small catches meant to stop the switch being knocked out of position — had found no defect. The wider thrust control module, he added, is still being analysed at a Boeing facility, and investigators have not yet concluded why the switches moved. Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The aircraft involved in the AI171 accident, VT-ANB, was a 12-year-old example of the type. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. How the investigation reached this point The AAIB's preliminary report, published in July 2025, laid out the sequence in stark terms. Within a second of each other, both fuel control switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF just after the aircraft left the ground. The switches were later returned to RUN, and the engines attempted to relight — but the aircraft was too low and too slow, and at least one engine could not recover thrust in time. The cockpit voice recording captured a brief, haunting exchange: one pilot asked the other why he had moved the switches to cutoff; the other replied that he had not. The report stopped there. It did not establish why the switches moved, and it assigned blame to no one. “At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to B787-8 operators and engine manufacturers.” Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), India — preliminary report, July 2025 The locking-feature question There is a reason the locking detents are being scrutinised. Back in 2018, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued an advisory bulletin flagging that the fuel-cutoff switch locking feature could, on some Boeing models including the 787-8, be installed in a way that left it disengaged. The bulletin was advisory rather than mandatory, and the recommended inspection was, by Air India's own account to investigators, not carried out on the accident aircraft. That history is exactly why the July 2026 finding is significant. If the switch and its locking mechanism are sound, the "the switch simply slipped" explanation becomes harder to sustain — which pushes the inquiry deeper into the electronics and logic of the thrust control module now sitting on a bench at Boeing. A careful, contested inquiry Investigators have broadly split into two readings. One looks for a technical trigger — an electrical fault that could have disturbed the aircraft's systems, with the switch movements a symptom rather than a deliberate act. The other reads the cockpit audio as evidence of a manual shutdown. No cause has been established, and Indian courts have been careful to stress that the preliminary report does not imply culpability on the part of the pilot-in-command. More than a year on, the families are still waiting for the one thing the investigation cannot yet give them: a reason. The thrust control module now being examined at Boeing may hold it. Until then, the most honest summary is the uncomfortable one — the switches moved, and nobody has yet proven how. https://migflug.com/jetflights/air-india-ai171-fuel-control-switch-no-defect-thrust-module-2026/ A Sensor Failure Stripped an A320’s Stall Protection On 6 July 2026, British Airways flight BA919 from Düsseldorf was on its initial approach to London Heathrow's Runway 27L when the aircraft, an Airbus A320-232 registered G-EUUN, lost a piece of information most passengers never think about: reliable airspeed. An Air Data Reference (ADR) failure fed the flight control computers with data they could no longer trust. The computers responded exactly as designed. They dropped out of Normal Law, the mode that makes an Airbus effectively impossible to stall, and reverted to Alternate Law, in which that automatic protection is replaced by nothing more than a warning. Twice, that warning sounded. On the second approach, at around 3,000 feet, the crew flew what investigators describe as a "potentially abrupt recovery manoeuvre" before stabilising and landing safely. No one was hurt. But the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has classified the event as a serious "Loss of Control In-Flight" incident and opened a formal investigation — which is how, at the end of July, the details became public. Flight British Airways BA919, Düsseldorf to Heathrow Aircraft Airbus A320-232, G-EUUN Date 6 July 2026 Fault Air Data Reference (ADR) failure Effect Reversion from Normal Law to Alternate Law Sequence Two stall warnings; PAN then MAYDAY; descent to ~2,200 ft Outcome Landed safely, no injuries Investigation AAIB — serious Loss of Control In-Flight What Alternate Law actually removes In Normal Law, an Airbus A320 will not let the pilot stall it. The flight computers enforce a hard angle-of-attack limit: pull the side-stick fully back and the jet simply flies at its maximum usable angle, no further. That protection depends on trustworthy air data — airspeed and angle of attack — supplied by the Air Data Reference units. When those units fail or disagree, the computers can no longer guarantee the protection is safe to enforce, so they downgrade to Alternate Law. In this mode the aircraft can be stalled, and the only barrier is an audible "STALL" warning, triggered as the wing approaches its critical angle. The safety net does not tear; it is switched off deliberately, because acting on false data would be more dangerous than trusting the pilots. In Alternate Law, the A320's automatic stall protection is replaced by an audible warning — the crew, not the computer, becomes the last line of defence. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. The sequence over London The first stall warning came during the initial approach. The crew abandoned the landing and declared a "PAN PAN" urgency call to air traffic control. Repositioning for a second attempt, a further stall warning sounded at roughly 3,000 feet. According to the AAIB, the crew's recovery brought the aircraft down to approximately 2,200 feet before the approach was stabilised. A MAYDAY was declared, and the A320 landed without further incident. No injuries and no damage were reported. “The crew carried out a potentially abrupt recovery manoeuvre, during which the aircraft descended to approximately 2,200 feet before the approach was stabilised.” UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch — preliminary characterisation, as reported Why investigators take this seriously Loss of Control In-Flight is the deadliest category in commercial aviation. The reference case is Air France 447 in 2009, where unreliable airspeed, a reversion to Alternate Law, and mishandled recovery inputs ended in a fatal high-altitude stall. Nothing about the BA919 event approached that outcome — the crew recovered and landed — but the opening chapter is uncomfortably familiar. The investigation will focus on two questions: why the Air Data Reference failed in the first place, and how the flight-deck instruments and crew responded to the conflicting information. The flight data and cockpit voice recorders will carry most of the answer. The reassuring reading is that the system behaved as intended: it recognised bad data, degraded gracefully, warned the crew, and the crew flew the aircraft to a safe landing. The value of the AAIB's work is in the part that still needs explaining — why a modern airliner lost trust in its own airspeed on a routine approach into Heathrow. https://migflug.com/jetflights/british-airways-a320-alternate-law-stall-heathrow-aaib-2026/ Gulfstream G700 Beats the Fastest Civilian Aircraft in the Sky at Its Own Game, Sets New Record American aircraft maker Gulfstream sent a G700 aircraft to take back the Los Angeles - Farnborough city pair record from Bombardier, and it did. Although they don’t attack one another directly and openly, two of the planet’s biggest aircraft makers, Gulfstream and Bombardier, have had this kind of smoldering beef for about as long as they’ve known each other. That’s more than understandable, seeing how they fight for the same piece of the same pie, and at times even entertaining, as we get to see the two companies, one American and the other Canadian, go to extreme lengths to best each other where it matters most. You may remember how earlier this month, as it decided to attend the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow in the UK and show off its flagship model, Bombardier sent over the Global 8000, a plane it describes as the fastest civilian aircraft since the Concorde. To get to the UK, that plane departed the city of Los Angeles and darted towards the European country at speeds of Mach 0.93 (714 mph or 1,148 kph). Faced with what the pilots described at the time as unfavorable tailwinds, the aircraft covered the 5,440 miles (8,755 km) distance separating LA from Farnborough in 8 hours and 46 minutes. That was 2.2 percent faster than the previous record, held, you guessed it, by Gulfstream. A marginal difference which meant that the achievement didn’t stand its ground for very long, as the Americans put on their armor and immediately wrestled back the record. To get the job done, Gulfstream assigned a G700 to the task, an aircraft that more than lived up to expectations. After departing Los Angeles at an undisclosed date, the plane needed just 8 hours and 27 minutes to land in the UK, setting the new city pair speed record. For precision's sake, the new time to beat is 19 minutes faster than the one achieved by the Bombardier Global 8000, or 3.6 percent faster. It’s also something the Canadians won’t allow to stand, so we’ll probably be back with new numbers in a very short time. The two planes, the Gulfstream 700 and the Bombardier Global 8000, are essentially equally capable, with the former’s top speed rated at Mach 0.935 (717 mph/1,155 kph) and the latter’s at Mach 0.95 (729 mph/173 kph). The difference is so tiny that it almost doesn’t even matter, and that’s probably what makes the fight between them so delicious. After all, when technical capabilities are almost equal, the only things that really matter are pilot skill and, to a much greater extent, Mother Nature’s ability to help a flight along by allowing for fine weather and favorable tailwinds. We will keep an eye on this undeclared war between the two and report back when Bombardier has something of consequence to announce. After all, the ball is in the Canadians' court now... https://www.autoevolution.com/news/gulfstream-g700-beats-the-fastest-civilian-aircraft-in-the-sky-at-its-own-game-sets-new-record-273638.html Deputy FAA administrator to leave agency Chris Rocheleau's departure comes amid a personnel shakeup and reorganization at the agency. Chris Rocheleau described his departure as “bittersweet,” though he noted he won’t be going far. Deputy FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau announced Thursday that he is leaving the agency. Next week will be his last, he said at an internal town hall watched by POLITICO. He’s the latest in a string of high-ranking officials that have headed for the exits as the FAA undergoes a major reorganization and an ambitious relocation from its Washington headquarters. In a message to employees, which the FAA shared with POLITICO, Rocheleau touted the launch of an air taxi pilot program and the use of artificial intelligence to boost aviation safety. Rocheleau served as acting administrator in the aftermath of last year’s midair collision between a regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter above Washington, which killed all 67 aboard. At the town hall, he described his departure as “bittersweet,” though he noted he won’t be going far. Not long after his remarks, the National Business Aviation Association, where Rocheleau worked prior to his latest stint at the FAA, said he was returning to the trade group. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said he believes Chief Counsel Liam McKenna will step in as acting deputy administrator. “Wasn’t expecting that, thanks for that curveball,” Bedford said during the town hall. “But again, great work.” Bedford called Rocheleau’s departure a “big loss” that leaves behind “big shoes to fill.” Rocheleau served as the acting head of the FAA in the first half of 2025 prior to Bedford’s confirmation. He joined the agency from the NBAA, and before that had been at the FAA for more than 20 years, according to his online biography. Big changes Rocheleau’s departure is part of a recent shakeup at the agency. In early June, POLITICO reported that Donald Bornhorst, who joined the FAA last year as chief administrative officer, was leaving due to a family issue. Prior to Rocheleau’s announcement at the town hall, Bedford fielded a question related to the number of acting leaders across the agency. Bedford said he expects that “over the course of the next couple of quarters, we should finalize all the permanent ones and twos,” referring to senior officials. “That would be my hope,” he added. Rocheleau in his speech pointed to the January 2025 plane-helicopter crash outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. “I was proud to be able to work with so many people to get through that moment,” he said. He also noted the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, which nearly 2,100 FAA workers opted into. Rocheleau said he was “particularly proud of ... the way everybody else has stepped up.” McKenna, the chief counsel, served as acting deputy administrator last year while Rocheleau was acting administrator. “We’ll at least have an experienced actor,” Bedford said. Under the FAA reorganization, Rocheleau was charged with overseeing parts of the agency that focused on commercial space launches, aircraft certification, advanced air mobility and security of FAA facilities. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/30/deputy-faa-administrator-rocheleau-01017815 Cessna’s Newest Light Jet Just Completed Its First Flight The Citation CJ3 Gen3 is expected to enter service sometime next year. Another new Cessna light jet just hit the skies. The Citation CJ3 Gen3 prototype recently completed its first flight, putting the aircraft one step closer to certification and production. With pilots Steve Helmer and Dave Welbrock at the helm, the jet took off from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas and spent around two hours in the skies. It reached a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet and a maximum speed of 278 knots. The pilots also tested the software in the cockpit. “From takeoff to landing, the aircraft demonstrated the handling qualities and system performance we expected,” Helmer said in a statement. “This first flight validated months of preparation and provided a strong foundation as we expand testing and continue the certification program.” Textron Aviation Unveiled by Cessna owner Textron Aviation in 2024, the CJ3 Gen3 sits squarely between the entry-level M2 Gen3 and the range-topping CJ4 Gen3. With a range of 2,040 nautical miles, a payload of 2,135 pounds, a top speed of 416 knots, and the ability to seat up to 10, the aircraft is suitable for all kinds of missions. The CJ3 is also designed to make piloting simpler and more efficient. The intuitive flight deck, built specifically for single-pilot operations, incorporates the proven Garmin G3000 avionics suite with things like Emergency Autoland built in. The cabin is customizable, with optional upscale features allowing owners to add their personal touch. It also features leather-upholstered seating that tracks, swivels, and reclines, plus RGB accent lighting, a naturally lit lavatory, and mod cons like wireless charging. Textron Aviation “The Citation CJ3 Gen3 builds on everything customers value about the CJ3 family while incorporating technology they’ve asked for to make flying even more intuitive and confidence-inspiring,” adds Lannie O’Bannion, Textron Aviation’s senior vice president of global sales and marketing. “From advanced Garmin avionics to a refined cabin experience, this aircraft reflects our commitment to delivering practical innovations for customers.” All three of Cessna’s next-generation Citation light jets have now entered flight testing, underscoring the brand’s dominance in the category. The CJ4 Gen3, which scored top honors in Robb Report’s Best of the Best issue this year, is expected to enter service in late 2026, while the CJ3 Gen3 and M2 Gen3 are expected to enter service in 2027. That is pending FAA certification, of course. https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/cessnas-citation-cj3-gen3-light-jet-first-flight-1238515345/ CALENDAR OF EVENTS . ICAO/EASA Third Global RSOO/RAIO Forum for Aviation Safety — September 29–30, 2026, in Georgetown, Guyana., https://www.icao.int/events : NATA Ground Handling Safety Symposium - September 15-16, 2026 Dallas/Fort Worth, TX www.nata.aero/ghss : Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 22-23 September 2026 . ISASI - BOSTON 2026 - September 28, 2026 – October 2, 2026 . Global Aviation Conference Frankfurt- 29-30SEP2026 - Frankfurt, Germany . 79TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SAFETY SUMMIT MONTREAL | NOVEMBER 10-12, 2026. . Airlines 2026 conference - November 11, 2026 (London) . 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) Oct. 20-22, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV . 2027 ACSF Safety Symposium - April 6-8, 2027 - ERAU Daytona Beach, FL Curt Lewis