Flight Safety Information - August 20, 2026 No. 163 In This Issue : Incident: British Airways A35K near London on Aug 18th 2026, hydraulic failure : Incident: Smartwings Poland B738 near Valencia on Aug 18th 2026, engine fire indication : 14 August 2026 - Vision71 LLC Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet G2+ Arrivée accident : Pilot killed as small plane, state police helicopter collide in Pennsylvania : Lufthansa A380 touches down too early in Munich, damages runway lights : US Air Force plane turns back from Antarctica after Russian missile threat : AFA: Flight Attendants Overextended on Alaska's 787 Flights : Court Throws Out Lawsuit Over 737 MAX Door Plug Blowout : United Airlines Pilot Caught On Hot Mic Cursing Out Flight Attendants to Plane Load of Stunned Passengers : Brussels Airport pilots targeted in series of laser attacks : Malaysian plane bound for Kuala Lumpur aborts takeoff at Narita airport : Longtime NTSB chief in Alaska announces retirement : EASA: Atmospheric Icing Insufficiently Understood : Boeing’s next narrowbody jet may use new engines : Calendar of Events Incident: British Airways A35K near London on Aug 18th 2026, hydraulic failure A British Airways Airbus A350-1000, registration G-XWBL performing flight BA-274 from Las Vegas,NV (USA) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was descending through FL370 towards London when the aircraft began to squawk emergency due to the loss of the green hydraulic system. The aircraft continued to London for a safe landing on runway 27R about 30 minutes later and taxied to the apron. The aircraft is still on the ground in London about 28 hours later and is currently not estimated to return to service before Aug 21st 2026. https://avherald.com/h?article=53e04b71&opt=0 https://avherald.com/h?article=53e04827&opt=0 A Smartwings Poland Boeing 737-800, registration SP-TVZ performing flight QS-1158 from Prague (Czech Republic) to Almeria,SP (Spain), was enroute at FL350 about 30nm east of Valencia,SP (Spain) when the crew received a fire indication for one of the engines (CFM56), shut the engine down, declared emergency and decided to divert to Valencia. The aircraft landed safely on Valencia's runway 12 about 20 minutes later. The aircraft remained on the ground in Valencia for about 12 hours, then returned to service. https://avherald.com/h?article=53e04827&opt=0 14 August 2026 - Vision71 LLC Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet G2+ Arrivée accident Time: 06:24 LT Type: Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet G2+ Arrivée Owner/operator: Vision71 LLC Registration: N71KD MSN: 0433 Year of manufacture: 2023 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Substantial Category: Accident Location: Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport (DIJ/KDIJ), Driggs, ID - United States of America Phase: Take off Nature: Private Departure airport: Driggs Reed Memorial Airport, ID (KDIJ) Destination airport: Olathe-New Century AirCenter, KS (JCI/KIXD) Investigating agency: NTSB Confidence Rating: Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities Narrative: The Vision Jet was on takeoff from a closed party of runway 04 at Driggs–Reed Memorial Airport, ID (KDIJ)) when it struck multiple pieces of construction equipment and gravel. The aircraft was severely damaged and one passenger suffered minor injuries. https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/577000 Pilot killed as small plane, state police helicopter collide in Pennsylvania One person was killed and two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were injured when a small plane and a state police helicopter were involved in a collision in central Pennsylvania on Wednesday evening, authorities said. The collision involved a Cessna 150 and a Bell 407 chopper, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Acting Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Lt. Col. George Bivens said at a news conference Wednesday night that the pilot of the Cessna, who was believed to be its only occupant, was killed in the collision, which occurred at Carlisle Airport in Cumberland County. The two pilots aboard the chopper, who were members of the state police's elite aviation unit, were injured but are expected to survive, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at the briefing. The helicopter, based out of Harrisburg, was conducting routine training exercises at Carlisle Airport when the crash occurred just before 7 p.m. ET, Bivens said. The helicopter was hovering several feet off the ground on a grass area adjacent to a runway when a small Cessna "approached from behind" and lined up with one of the runways near that grass area, Bivens told reporters. "As that Cessna came down along that runway, for an unknown reason, it veered hard to the right at the last moment," Bivens said. "It struck the helicopter from the rear. The pilots would not have been able to even see that airplane approaching them." Pennsylvania State Police said in a later statement that the collision occurred while the helicopter was "on the ground." The National Transportation Safety Board called the incident "a midair collision." Bivens described the crash as "violent," saying the helicopter "rolled inverted and crashed into the ground on its side and partially onto its roof." The Cessna pilot died at the scene. Both helicopter pilots were initially trapped, but one of them was able to push out a window and get both of them out, Bivens disclosed. They were taken to Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Dr. Ashley Ludwig, trauma director at the hospital, said in the briefing that both pilots sustained minor injuries and were stable. The name of the deceased Cessna pilot was not immediately released. FAA officials were on scene, and NTSB investigators were arriving overnight, Bivens said. The FAA said the NTSB would lead the investigation, with the FAA assisting. "There is some video and photographs that are available that will be used to reconstruct what occurred," Bivens said. The NTSB noted that after the wreckage was documented, it would "be moved to a secure facility for further examination." "Tonight could have been much worse, tonight could have been much more tragic for our state police family, thank God that it wasn't," Shapiro said. Carlisle is located about 120 miles west of Philadelphia. https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/small-plane-state-police-helicopter-011647434.html Lufthansa A380 touches down too early in Munich, damages runway lights A Lufthansa Airbus A380 carrying 351 passengers touched down too early at Munich Airport on Monday evening, damaging runway lights, the German airline confirmed. The 13-year-old aircraft landed safely, and all passengers were unharmed, a Lufthansa spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft, had arrived from San Francisco. After landing in Munich, it taxied to its position at the terminal and passengers disembarked normally, Lufthansa said. According to Lufthansa, Germany's Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) has launched an investigation, which the airline said it was fully supporting. The incident came just two days after a Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner overshot the end of the same runway during a troubled take-off in which the aircraft struggled to accelerate and narrowly avoided an accident. Its tail struck the tarmac and damaged runway lights. No one was injured, and the aircraft later returned safely to Munich. https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/lufthansa-a380-touches-down-too-151843647.html US Air Force plane turns back from Antarctica after Russian missile threat A U.S. Air Force plane heading from New Zealand to Antarctica was forced to turn around Tuesday due to a "potentially hazardous" space activity warning. The American C-17 Globemaster aircraft, using call sign ICE28, initially took off from Christchurch, New Zealand, around 9:00 a.m. local time but returned back to Christchurch less than three hours later due to a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) sent by New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). A spokesperson from CAA told The Hill Tuesday that it was made aware of potentially hazardous activity by Russia's state air traffic management corporation, "resulting in the issuance of a NOTAM advising pilots of the hazard." On Wednesday, the spokesperson revealed that it was made aware by Russia of a planned missile launch. "[We were] made aware by the Russian air traffic agency of a planned missile launch and associated potential hazard to international airspace, within New Zealand's Oceanic Flight Information Region (FIR)," New Zealand's CAA wrote. The region is what CAA describes on its website as airspace over the high seas that New Zealand manages under the International Civil Aviation Organization's regional air navigation agreement. FIR includes a 30-million-square-kilometer area that is mostly international waters, according to New Zealand's air traffic management authority, spanning the South Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean and the Tasman Sea. "We put in place a danger area and issued a NOTAM to alert aircraft operators to the potential hazard. This does not prevent aircraft from flying through the area, operators make their decisions based on the information available," the agency continued. The flight was scheduled as a part of the U.S. Air Force's winter fly season, which transports researchers and necessary equipment to Antarctica before summer research season begins in the region. The aircraft is one flight that is scheduled annually to fly between Christchurch and both the U.S. and New Zealand's research bases in Antarctica. https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/us-air-force-plane-turns-171213665.html AFA: Flight Attendants Overextended on Alaska's 787 Flights Unionized flight attendants at Alaska Airlines are accusing the airline of failing to properly staff Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flights, despite a prior agreement to study staffing needs and make adjustments if necessary. Unionized flight attendants at Alaska Airlines say they are being set up to fail due to a lack of proper staffing on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flights. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said Alaska is not honoring a prior agreement to study 787 staffing and adjust if needed. At the onset of Alaska-branded 787 international service in April, the airline's management agreed to a 30-day observation period that would including gathering flight attendant feedback and implementing service flow improvements, the union said. But that observation period ended May 28, and months later Alaska has "offered no resolutions to ease the demands of an operation they refuse to resource properly, citing claims of needing more data." AFA argued that Alaska can and does respond quickly to customer feedback, proving that the carrier could make needed changes, "but they simply choose not to." "Instead, management's response to flight attendants has consistently been: Make it work," the union said. Alaska took delivery of its first mainline 787 in January and now uses the type on long-haul routes to destinations such as London, Rome, and Tokyo. Hawaiian Airlines has its own 787s, flying to markets including New York-JFK and San Francisco; while technically part of Alaska Air Group's combined fleet, they continue to use Hawaiian branding and mainly operate from Hawaii. The AFA did not include Hawaiian flight attendants in its grievance, though they are also represented by the union. "At its core, this grievance is about one simple principle: If management expects a certain level of service, it must provide the staffing necessary to deliver it," AFA said. "They face a clear choice: increase staffing to meet their service goals, or work with our Inflight Service Committee to establish realistic service standards that actually reflect the staffing provided. Until they choose one, we will not accept being set up for failure." https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/afa-flight-attendants-overextended-alaskas-131026208.html Court Throws Out Lawsuit Over 737 MAX Door Plug Blowout A court in Delaware dismissed a lawsuit against Boeing executives over a door plug blowout on a 737 MAX 9, finding that the management handled safety and quality control appropriately. A group of pension funds holding Boeing shares accused the manufacturer of ignoring safety-related red flags in the months leading up to the blowout, which happened on an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California. But the Delaware Chancery Court found that Boeing's management handled safety and quality control information appropriately and worked to improve the company's safety culture. The court noted that the safety reports the executives regularly received did not indicate "serious misconduct or an impending corporate trauma," according to law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, which defended Boeing's leadership. The pension funds filed their case in November 2024. It was not immediately clear if they will have an avenue to appeal. The door plug blowout caused an uncontrolled decompression inside the aircraft, injuring three people. The 737 MAX returned to Portland and landed safely; there were no fatalities. The NTSB's final report on the incident, released last summer, found that the jet's left mid exit door plug was missing four critical installation bolts. It faulted Boeing's safety and quality processes for not catching the problem and failing to properly document every person who worked on the door plug and the surrounding fuselage. The report encouraged the FAA to step up oversight of Boeing's safety programs. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/markets/stocks/articles/court-throws-lawsuit-over-737-174701364.html United Airlines Pilot Caught On Hot Mic Cursing Out Flight Attendants to Plane Load of Stunned Passengers A United Airlines pilot was caught on a hot mic cursing out the flight attendants towards the end of a 15-hour flight from Cape Town to Washington Dulles – perhaps he was feeling a little tired and emotional towards the end of such a long flight. The incident reportedly happened on United flight UA-2023, with passengers left in stunned silence as the pilot delivered his profanity-laden assault against the flight attendants. “After 1.5 million miles of flying, you think you’ve seen it all, but today was a first for my family and I traveling CPT to IAD,” one frequent flyer who was a passenger on the plane shared on Reddit. According to the passenger, the incident occurred shortly after one of the pilots delivered their normal pre-arrival public address announcement to the cabin, with the “usual spiel about how we’ll be landing soon, giving us the temperature and conditions, etc.” The announcement finished as normal, but 30 seconds later, the pilot’s voice came back over the public address announcement. It soon became very obvious, though, that the pilot didn’t mean to be speaking to the cabin. The frequent flyer who shared the story soon realised that the pilot was trying to get in contact with the flight attendants via the plane’s intercom system. “Hello? ….. Hello?” The pilot said. When there was no response, the pilot’s words became somewhat more colourful. “What a bunch of f**king morons! They won’t pick up the phone,” the pilot blasted. Passengers sat in silence as the pilot dropped several more ‘F bombs.’ The purser desperately tried to call the cockpit to tell the flight crew of the hot mic situation, but their efforts were in vain. “This went on for at least seven minutes, maybe a little more, before they went silent. Very awkward!” The passenger added. “Whatever had happened with the PA mic actually never seemed to get fully resolved because for the remainder of the flight, the message ‘PA announcement in progress’ remained displayed on the TV screens.” This very much sounds like a screwup on the part of the flight crew rather than the flight attendants. What may have happened is that the pilot used the cockpit interphone to make their public address announcement but failed to stow it properly in order to break the connection. They then attempted to call the purser’s station using their headset, but couldn’t get through because a line was already open in the form of a public address announcement. These kinds of mistakes happen from time to time, although it’s a lot rarer to hear pilots cursing out their flight attendants. It certainly doesn’t sound like there was great CRM (‘Crew Resource Management’) between the pilots and the flight attendants on this flight. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2026/08/20/united-airlines-pilot-caught-on-hot-mic-cursing-out-flight-attendants-to-plane-load-of-stunned-passengers/ Brussels Airport pilots targeted in series of laser attacks Multiple pilots flying into Brussels Airport were targeted by lasers on the evening of 14 August, amid speculation that the activity could have stemmed from local discontent over flight paths. Aiming lasers at aircraft is against the law in Belgium and across Europe. Considered a serious criminal offence that endangers air traffic, it is punishable by imprisonment and hefty fines. Just as bright headlights can dazzle a car driver at night, lasers can distract and disorient aircraft pilots. The European air traffic control body Skeyes told Het Laatste Nieuws that the pilots “all had a laser pointed at their faces between 20:45 and 02:45.” The lasers reportedly came from the district of Dilbeek, in Flemish Brabant, just west of the Belgian capital Brussels. The Dilbeek area is at the centre of an ongoing row between local residents and the Belgian state over noise pollution due to the increased use of the so-called RNP 07L flight path, an advanced satellite-based approach on which 96% of flights (and 100% at night) have been shown by research to violate Brussels’ noise standards. It is unknown whether the noise controversy was linked in any way to the laser incidents. Shining a laser at an aircraft can blind a flight crew and is a crime. It happened Sat morning as an MNPD helicopter was assisting on a fleeing vehicle call. The beam came from Castlewood Condos on Harold Dr. Ground units found the suspect & recovered the laser… pic.twitter.com/qI6dP5mzCh — Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) August 17, 2026 Police immediately conducted a search for the offenders, DPG Media said, but police commissioner Koen Luppens did not hold out much hope of identifying or arresting those at fault. “Without the exact location, it’s a hopeless task. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” he said. Laser incidents rose 80% in 2025 Laser attacks on aircraft are far from a new phenomenon. The number of incidents had been falling in the decade to 2025, when there was a sharp rise, with 169 reports of lasers used against planes in Belgian airspace, representing a steep increase of 80% over the previous year and making lasers the third most common aviation safety event after bird strikes and unauthorised use of airspace. Despite the surprisingly high number of laser incidents in 2025, authorities say that five incidents in one night are unusual. Officers continue to investigate the evening’s incidents, while monitoring is expected to continue in the coming weeks and months. Solar panels caused similar dazzling problem Unintentional dazzling can be a problem for plane crew too, as shown in 2025, when pilots approaching Amsterdam Schiphol found they were being blinded by reflections from a solar panel installation in the Green Energy Corridor. A plan was put in place to remove the offending panels and cover them with a non-reflective film, to allow both the Dutch airport and the Belgian-owned solar facility to operate safely. https://traveltomorrow.com/brussels-airport-pilots-targeted-in-series-of-laser-attacks/ Malaysian plane bound for Kuala Lumpur aborts takeoff at Narita airport CHIBA, Japan - A Malaysia Airlines plane bound for Kuala Lumpur aborted takeoff Thursday morning at Narita airport near Tokyo due to a problem with the aircraft, the transport ministry said, adding that none of the 162 crew and passengers were injured. Black smoke was reportedly seen coming from the Airbus A330 plane when it was moving onto one of the airport's runways at around 10:40 a.m. Operating as Flight 89, the plane is believed to have had a problem with its left engine, according to the airport branch of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The runway was closed for about two and a half hours, with debris believed to be parts detached from the aircraft recovered from the surrounding area, it said. https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/82644 Longtime NTSB chief in Alaska announces retirement Clint Johnson to leave at the end of August ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Clint Johnson has put in his time. As the state’s chief investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, Johnson has overseen more than 1,000 investigations of plane crashes in Alaska in his nearly three decades on the job. Johnson announced his retirement at the end of August. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this job, everybody that I’ve worked with, it’s been great, but it’s time,” Johnson said during a recent interview. Johnson and his team of investigators have spent countless hours analyzing the causes of accidents in an effort to prevent them from happening again. He’s also functioned as a spokesperson for the agency and views keeping the public informed an important part of the job — a job, he admitted, that many times can be tough. “It’s not a job that you clock in at 9 o’clock and leave at 4 o’clock,” he said. “And it takes its toll.” Johnson said he originally wanted to retire at the beginning of June but decided to stay on to complete the investigation on the Bering Air Crash near Nome that took the lives of 10 people in February of last year. Other investigations that stick with him include the 2010 crash near Dillingham that took the life of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, as well as four others. “The Stevens accident was one of the ones that I ran and was able to get across the line in record time,” Johnson said. “There was a tremendous amount of political pressure, as well as state pressure; Sen. Stevens was well known and there was a lot of pressure on our team, but we got that one across the line.” One that investigation that hit close to home involved the deaths of two people that Johnson knew personally, Pilot Mel Nading and Trooper Tage Toll, whose state helicopter crashed on a rescue mission in Talkeetna in 2013. “Mel and Tage were going up to rescue a snowmachiner, ended up getting in the weather, and crashed, killed all three,” Johnson said. “That was a tough one for our office, there’s no doubt about it.” Johnson said the job takes a toll on everyone involved but there is a benefit — the lessons learned have helped to make Alaska skies safer. “When I first started in this office in 1998, almost every single month we were going out on multi-fatal accidents. That has decreased no doubt about it.” Fellow NTSB investigator Millicent Hill has worked with Johnson for the past 12 years and praised his work through the years. “Clint has worked tirelessly for almost three decades now to improve safety here in Alaska,” Hill said. “We work together and we support each other and Clint’s made this office what it is, we will miss him deeply.” Johnson said he’s loved both his colleagues and the job but it’s time, he wants to spend more time with family. He said he’s been assured his position in Alaska will be filled but as yet a replacement has not been hired. https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/20/longtime-ntsb-chief-alaska-announces-retirement/ EASA: Atmospheric Icing Insufficiently Understood European air safety agency calls for more comprehensive studies into phenomenon NASA has introduced a new online course to help pilots prepare for icing conditions. EASA is calling for further studies into the impact of atmospheric icing on aviation at higher altitudes. The European air safety agency published a report on Wednesday summarizing “the state of science and knowledge on atmospheric icing in a climate change context.” In work developed under the European Network on the Impact of Climate Change on Aviation, the agency highlighted gaps in understanding of the phenomenon and how changing conditions could affect it in the future. Although EASA acknowledges that forecasting capabilities have improved, it believes that “important knowledge” and data gaps remain. Specifically, the agency cited the persistent challenges in predicting icing severity and in-flight ice crystal conditions. It also cautioned that current “limitations in observations, model resolution and the representation of cloud microphysics can affect the ability to accurately assess icing conditions.” Regarding the coming decades, the report stated that data concerning projections for future trends in atmospheric icing conditions are “almost non-existent,” with current research predominantly centered on ground-level regional studies in northern Europe. EASA recommends that comprehensive studies addressing icing phenomena at higher altitudes, and their impact on aviation, be conducted. The safety agency noted that temperatures in the upper troposphere of central and western Asia are projected to decrease from 2050, whereas eastern Asia will register a marginal increase. Temperatures are also expected to rise over the western North Pacific. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2026-08-19/easa-atmospheric-icing-insufficiently-understood Boeing’s next narrowbody jet may use new engines Boeing has begun early planning for a 737 MAX successor, targeting a 2030s launch to compete with Airbus A321neo. Engine makers including Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and CFM are pitching designs. No final decisions have been made, but Boeing seeks 30,000-pound-thrust ducted systems. Boeing is evaluating a clean-sheet narrowbody to replace the 737 MAX, with design work reportedly underway since late 2025. The aircraft aims to bridge narrow and widebody segments, featuring efficiency upgrades like improved wings. A formal request for engine proposals was issued in mid-2025, specifying ducted propulsion and 30,000 pounds of thrust. Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and CFM International are all developing candidate engines, including scaled UltraFan and Adaptive Cycle designs. Boeing’s CEO has stated no final selections are imminent, but industry watchers expect decisions to align with market readiness. Ground testing of Rolls-Royce’s demonstrator is slated for 2028. https://www.insideflyer.com/posts/boeings-next-narrowbody-jet-may-use-new-engines/ CALENDAR OF EVENTS . ALPA's 70th Air Safety Forum -September 14-17, 2026; Washington, DC . 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 . Defence Aviation Safety Conference 2026 — October 5–6, 2026, United Kingdom. . European Aviation Training Summit 3 – 5 November 2026 • Estoril Congress Centre, Cascais, Portugal . 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 . Bombardier Safety Standdown (November 10–12, 2026 in Wichita, KS) . 2027 ACSF Safety Symposium - April 6-8, 2027 - ERAU Daytona Beach, FL Curt Lewis