Flight Safety Information - May 6, 2024 No. 090 In This Issue : Incident: Serve Cargo B733 at Kinshasa on May 5th 2024, runway excursion : Accident: JSX E145 at Houston on May 3rd 2024, gear collapse and runway excursion on landing : Accident: R'Komor F50 at Moheli on May 5th 2024, runway excursion on rejected takeoff : Incident: United B39M at Orlando on Apr 26th 2024, runway incursion forces rejected takeoff : Australia accuses China of unsafe behavior when fighter jet released flares in a helicopter's path : Commercial jet maker Airbus is staying humble even as Boeing flounders. There's a reason for that. : Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo damaged at SFO after jet bridge collapses : FAA Adds 3 Antidepressants To Approved Meds List For Pilots & Air Traffic Controllers : FAA Issues Warning On Potential Wing Cracks In Revo Inc. Amphibious Aircraft : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: Serve Cargo B733 at Kinshasa on May 5th 2024, runway excursion A Serve Air Cargo Boeing 737-300 freighter, registration 9S-AKK performing a flight from an unknown point of origin to Kinshasa N'djili (DR Congo), veered right off runway 24 during landing at about 19:00L (18:00Z), came to a stop with all gear on soft ground and was disabled. There were no injuries, the aircraft sustained minor if any damage, however, it is being suspected that the engines (CFM56) received damage as result of the runway excursion. The aircraft was towed off the runway about 1.5 hours later and the airport resumed operations. A Brussels Airlines Airbus A330-300, registration OO-SFB performing flight SN-359 from Luanda (Angola) to Kinshasa N'Djili, was enroute at FL250 about half way between the aircraft when the aircraft entered a hold at FL250 at 19:02Z for about 30 minutes, then decided to return to Luanda. At about 19:45Z the aircraft again turned around now towards Kinshasa and landed safely on Kinshasa's runway 24 at 20:15Z. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=518496d6&opt=0 Accident: JSX E145 at Houston on May 3rd 2024, gear collapse and runway excursion on landing A JSX Embraer ERJ-145, registration N942JX performing flight XE-284 from Dallas Love,TX to Houston Hobby,TX (USA) with 21 passengers and 3 crew on board, landed on Hobby Airport's runway 04 at (23:00Z) however suffered the collapse of the left main gear during roll out already at relatively low speed and veered left off the runway before coming to a stand still. One member of the crew received minor injuries, the other occupants disembarked without injuries. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. A passenger reported there had been no indication of any problem prior to landing. During roll out a massive jolt was felt and cabin crew began shouting "head down, brace for impact". Later the NTSB announced: "NTSB investigating an accident involving an Embraer EMB-145LR airplane (N942JX) at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport on Friday evening. Initial reports are that the left main landing gear collapsed during the landing roll. Three NTSB investigators are traveling to Houston." https://www.avherald.com/h?article=518367ec&opt=0 Accident: R'Komor F50 at Moheli on May 5th 2024, runway excursion on rejected takeoff A R'Komor Fokker 50, registration D6-AIB performing a flight from Moheli to Anjouan (Comores), was accelerating for takeoff from Moheli's runway 31 when the crew rejected takeoff at high speed but overran the end of the runway and came to a stop off the runway on soft ground amidst bushes with the right main gear collapsed. There are a number of injuries reported, varying from serious to minor. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. According to ground witnesses the aircraft suffered a problem with one of its landing gears/tyres, possibly hitting an obstacle, prior to veering off the runway. The aircraft had been involved into another runway excursion earlier this year, see Incident: R'Komor F50 at Anjouan on Feb 19th 2024, burst tyres on landing, runway excursion. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=5183e47a&opt=0 Incident: United B39M at Orlando on Apr 26th 2024, runway incursion forces rejected takeoff A United Boeing 737-9 MAX, registration N37540 performing flight UA-1929 from Newark,NJ to Orlando,FL (USA), had landed on Orlando's runway 18R and had been instructed to vacate via E and hold short of runway 18L. A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-8 MAX, registration N8875B performing flight WN-5777 from Orlando,FL to Dallas Love,TX (USA), was cleared for takeoff from runway 18L and was accelerating down the runway when UA-1929 crossed the hold short line prompting tower to cancel the takeoff clearance for WN-5777. The aircraft rejected takeoff at high speed (about 110 knots over ground) and slowed safely coming to a stop well short of the UA-1929 continuing to cross the runway. A ground observer reported Tower instructed the crew to taxi via taxiway E hold short of runway 18L, the crew however read back taxi via taxiway E and cross runway 18L, which was not challenged by tower. After Southwest had rejected their takeoff tower told the United about possible pilot deviation. The Southwest Aircraft returned to hold short line of runway 18L and departed about 25 minutes after the rejected takeoff. The United Aircraft departed for the return flight on schedule. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=5182ec12&opt=0 Australia accuses China of unsafe behavior when fighter jet released flares in a helicopter's path MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia has protested to Beijing that a Chinese fighter jet endangered an Australian navy helicopter with flares in international waters, officials said Monday. The incident occurred on Saturday as the Australian air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart was enforcing United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea in international waters in the Yellow Sea, the Defense Department said in a statement. A Chinese Chengdu J-10 fighter jet released flares in the flight path of an Australian navy Seahawk deployed from the Hobart 300 meters (986 feet) in front of the helicopter and 60 meters (197 feet) above, Defense Minister Richard Marles said. “This was an incident which was both unsafe and unprofessional,” Marles told Nine News television. “We will not be deterred from engaging in lawful activities and activities which are there to enforce U.N. sanctions in respect of North Korea,” Marles added. There were no injuries or damage, the Defense Department said, adding the Australian government expressed concerns to the Chinese government. There was no immediate comment from Beijing on Monday. It was the most serious encounter between the two nations’ forces since Australia accused the Chinese destroyer CNS Ningbo of injuring Australian navy divers with sonar pulses in Japanese waters in November last year. Australia said China disregarded a safety warning to keep away from the Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba. China maintains that the encounter happened outside Japanese territorial waters and that the Chinese warship caused no harm. Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to visit Australia this year for the first time in a decade as bilateral relations have improved in recent years from unprecedented lows. https://www.yahoo.com/news/australia-accuses-china-unsafe-behavior-095947241.html Commercial jet maker Airbus is staying humble even as Boeing flounders. There's a reason for that. Europe’s Airbus had established a clear sales lead over Boeing even before the American company encountered more fallout from manufacturing troubles and ongoing safety concerns Commercial jet maker Airbus is staying humble even as Boeing flounders. There's a reason for that. I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy In the latest round of their decades-long battle for dominance in commercial aircraft, Europe’s Airbus established a clear sales lead over Boeing even before the American company encountered more fallout from manufacturing problems and ongoing safety concerns. Airbus has outpaced Boeing for five straight years in plane orders and deliveries, and just reported a 28% quarterly increase in net profit. It was already winning market share by beating Boeing to develop a line of fuel-efficient, mid-sized aircraft that are cheaper for airlines to fly. And now Boeing is facing a government-mandated production cap on its best-selling plane. Production, safety issues at Boeing could snarl summer travel Yet the European company is unlikely to extend its advantage in the Airbus-Boeing duopoly much further despite having customers clamoring for more commercial aircraft, according to aviation analysts. The reason: Airbus already is making planes as fast as it can and has a backlog of more than 8,600 orders to fill. Its ability to leverage Boeing’s troubles therefore is “very limited,” according to Jonathan Berger, managing director at Alton Aviation Consultancy. Between strained supply chains and the long lead times for a hugely complex and highly regulated product, a jetliner ordered from Airbus today may not arrive until the end of the decade. Boeing also has a huge order backlog for more than 5,660 commercial planes. The mismatch between the post-COVID demand for flights and the aircraft supply pipeline is bad news for travelers as well as airlines. “This has been an incredibly strong market recovery, and people need more jets than they’re getting,” said Richard Aboulafia, a managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory. “And until they get those jets, you don’t have enough capacity. Guess what goes up? Ticket prices.” At the beginning of the year, Boeing seemed finally to be recovering from two crashes of Max jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Then, on Jan. 5, a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9, and the company has been reeling ever since. Boeing has since slowed manufacturing at the order of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. It lost $355 million in the first quarter because of a decline in aircraft deliveries and compensation it paid to airlines for a temporary grounding of Max 9s. The Max was Boeing’s answer to Airbus’ A320 family of planes. Airbus, which is registered in the Netherlands but has its main headquarters in France, is taking a conspicuously cautious and even modest stance toward its recent success and its rival’s woes. CEO Guillaume Faury has said he’s “not happy” about Boeing’s troubles and they’re not good for the industry as a whole. In an April 25 call with journalists, Faury was reserved about how much the company could speed up production, even with 8.7 billion euros in cash on hand. Airbus was managing “a diversity of challenges” in getting the parts it needs, he said, and must “make sure that we ramp up at a pace that is compatible with the weakest suppliers.” Faury stressed that any moves to expand production would be done with an eye to “our core pillars of safety, quality, integrity, compliance and security.” Airbus and Boeing have manufacturing constraints in part because the two companies are not so much aircraft makers as “aircraft assemblers” that rely on thousands of parts made by other companies, from the fuselage and engines to electronics and interiors, Alton Aviation's Berger noted. Since “the supply chains are going as fast as they can,” Airbus is not in a position to swoop in and take Boeing's customers. The European company scored a symbolic win, however, when United Airlines lined up leases for 35 Airbus jets because of delays that Boeing faces in getting its new, larger Max 10 approved by U.S. regulators. Given that, “Airbus is playing it well. They’re being very, very humble. It’s smart because they can’t exploit it,” Berger said. Airbus last year topped Boeing for the fifth straight year in the orders race, with 2,094 net orders and 735 delivered planes. Boeing had 1,314 net orders and delivered 528 aircraft. Airbus currently leads Boeing in sales of large single-aisle planes 80%-20%, according to figures from Alton Aviation Consultancy. The matchup between the smaller Airbus A320 and Boeing’s 737 Max 7 and Max 8 is more even; Airbus is ahead on delivered planes but Boeing is ahead 54%-46% when the European company's order backlog is counted. Airbus' success is not just due to Boeing's missteps. The company is benefiting from its decision to launch the A321neo, a single-aisle aircraft with 180 to 230 seats. “Neo” stands for new engine option, meaning highly fuel efficient engines that save airlines money on one of their biggest costs. Boeing rushed to match with the Max, a 737 equipped with new, more efficient engines, only to run into trouble with the crashes and door plug. Airbus also benefited from a deal to take over the smaller A220 developed by Canada’s Bombardier. Boeing is without a competing product in that niche. Analysts say Airbus has a further edge with the forthcoming A321XLR, a model that will allow airlines to use cheaper narrow-body jets on long-haul flights. Yet the company already has pushed its deadline to produce 75 A320 and A321 jets per month from 2025 to 2026, and it moved the promised delivery date for the A321XLR from the second quarter of 2024 to the third. “Boeing is winning some orders because Airbus can’t supply the airplanes,” Scott Hamilton, managing director of the Leeham Company consultancy, said. “So Airbus really can’t gain much more in the way of market share because they are sold out.” The current pace of production at the two companies means older, less fuel-efficient planes are going to have to fly longer before being retired so airlines won't be able to reduce fuel costs. And older planes require more maintenance to keep flying, which costs money but doesn’t affect safety if the maintenance is done right. For travelers, it means discounted tickets will be harder to come by. Could another entrant shake up the duopoly, as Tesla did for autos? Not for years to come, analysts said. Brazil's Embraer makes smaller regional jets, and so far has not moved to compete with Boeing and Airbus. China’s COMAC has taken more than 1,000 orders for its narrow-body C919 plane but is “at least a decade or two” away from presenting a strong competitor, according to Berger. That means a two-company race remains the game for now - even if one of them is under-performing. “The airlines need at least two,” Berger said. “They don’t want to put themselves in a monopolistic situation. So everybody’s cheering for Boeing to get their act together.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/airbus-ap-boeing-max-europe-b2540131.html Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo damaged at SFO after jet bridge collapses A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo aircraft suffered damages to its door when a jet bridge at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) collapsed. The incident was first reported by A Fly Guy’s Cabin Crew Lounge, a social media page with over 1 million followers, composed mostly of aviation professionals. According to the post, the aircraft, with registration N216HA, had just arrived from Maui’s Kahului Airport (OGG), operating as flight HA42 on May 2, 2024. The jetway, which was numbered A1, collapsed after all passengers from the aircraft had deplaned, and no injuries were reported. However, the aircraft’s L1 door, where the jet bridge had been attached, sustained considerable damage, enough for the airline to cancel the plane’s return flight, HA41, back to Kahului Airport, the following day. As of May 5, 2024, the aircraft is still in SFO Airport, likely undergoing repairs. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/hawaiian-airlines-airbus-a321neo-damaged-at-sfo-after-jet-bridge-collapses FAA Adds 3 Antidepressants To Approved Meds List For Pilots & Air Traffic Controllers In total, the FAA now allows eight types of different medications for mental health issues for pilots and air traffic controllers. SUMMARY • FAA expanded the approved antidepressant list for pilots and ATCs. • It now allows SSRIs, SNRIs, and NDRIs for conditional use, with a total of eight different drugs. • The regulator has aimed to tackle mental health issues following an incident when a jumpseating pilot attempted to shut down the engines of an aircraft mid-air. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has added three antidepressants that are approved for use by pilots and air traffic controllers (ATC), a significant development for the mental well-being of professionals working in the aviation industry. Antidepressant protocol As a result of the addition of the three drugs, the FAA has renamed its selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) Protocol to the Antidepressant Protocol. The change was made after the regulator had added additional medications on April 24 while also planning to include Wellbutrin, a norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI), on May 31. In total, the FAA now allows certain SSRIs, serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI), and NDRIs for conditional use. Now, there are eight drugs that pilots and ATCs can take and keep their medical certificates. However, the FAA explained that individuals “can be considered for first, second, or third-class medical certificates while being treated with one of several specific antidepressants.” As such, the decision to issue a medical certificate is made on a case-by-case basis. The FAA had formed its latest Pilot Mental Health Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) in December after an Alaska Airlines pilot, who was flying in a jump seat on a Horizon Air Embraer E175, tried to shut down the engines of the aircraft mid-air. The regional jet was operating flight AS2059 on behalf of Alaska Airlines on October 22. Then, the aircraft flying between Seattle Paine Field International Airport (PAE) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) when it had to divert to Portland International Airport (PDX) after the jump-seating pilot attempted to shut down both engines. In a statement released the following day, the airline said that the pilots of the E175 “reported a credible security threat related to an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who was traveling in the flight deck jump seat.” “The jump seat occupant unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines. The Horizon Captain and First Officer quickly responded, engine power was not lost and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.” Committee’s recommendations The ARC issued its recommendation report on April 1, with the committee working on four major issues, including the FAA’s handling of mental health diagnoses, the current medical screening process in aviation, barriers preventing aviation professionals from reporting about mental health issues, and education, training, and awareness about mental health issues. While the full 164-page report can be found here, the ARC summarized its recommendations to the FAA, starting with the suggestion to create a non-punitive pathway for disclosing mental health issues and treatment. Additional recommendations include the revision and evaluation of the requirements for reporting and certification/qualification of psychotherapy, as well as specific mental health conditions and other suggestions to the US regulator. https://simpleflying.com/faa-adds-3-antidepressants-approved-meds-pilots-air-traffic-controllers/ FAA Issues Warning On Potential Wing Cracks In Revo Inc. Amphibious Aircraft The Federal Aviation Administration issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) concerning potential cracks in the wing structures of certain aircraft manufactured by Revo Inc., including various Lake and Colonial amphibious models. The bulletin specifically addresses concerns regarding cracks in the “wing rear attach beam assembly and hole-quality issues identified in a significant number of aircraft.” The FAA said the issue does not pose an unsafe condition prompting an airworthiness directive but urges owners and operators to take precautions. The affected models include the Colonial C-1, Colonial C-2, Lake LA-4, Lake LA-4A, Lake LA-4P, Lake LA-4-200, Lake Model 250, and Lake 270 Turbo Renegade. In issuing the SAIB, the FAA gathered information from the Lake Amphibian Club (LAC), which, over the past 45 years, documented 27 reports of cracks in the wing rear spar web that were visible in the aft wheel well. The FAA recommended conducting inspections during routine preflight, annual or 100-hour inspections. Additionally, the agency recommended performing these inspections following specific events such as water loop incidents, accidents involving wing or landing gear impact, or any other scenarios where the wing may have experienced increased torsion stresses on the rear attachment area. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-issues-warning-on-potential-wing-cracks-in-revo-inc-amphibious-aircraft/ CALENDAR OF EVENTS • Blazetech - Aircraft Fire Hazards, Protection, and Investigation Course June 4 - 7, 2024 • (APTSC) Asia and Pacific Turboprop Safety Conference - June 26 - 27, 2024 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia • 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 Ground Handling Safety Symposium (GHSS) - September 17-18, 2024 - Fort Worth, TX • 2024 ISASI - Lisbon, Portugal - September 30 to October 4, 2024 • International Congress of Aerospace Medicine ICAM 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal, 3 - 5 October 2024 • Aviation Health Conference back on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th October 2024 • 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition - Oct. 22-24 (Vegas) Curt Lewis