Flight Safety Information - May 8, 2024 No. 092 In This Issue : Incident: Discover A333 at Mombasa on May 7th 2024, bird strike : Incident: Ethiopian DH8D at Addis Ababa on May 7th 2024, smoke in cabin : Accident: Fedex B763 at Istanbul on May 8th 2024, nose gear up landing : Incident: France B789 near Iqaluit on May 7th 2024, burning odour on board : Singapore Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashes at Tengah Air Base after ‘issue’ following take-off, pilot hospitalised : Some 787 Production Test Records Were Falsified, Boeing Says : One Seattle-Bound Aircraft Evacuated, Another Diverted : Delta, Southwest get top marks for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power airline survey : Airbus Or Boeing? Riyadh Air Plans New Narrow-Body Jet Order Amid Tight Supply : Enhancing runway safety with landing factors : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: Discover A333 at Mombasa on May 7th 2024, bird strike A Discover Airlines Airbus A330-300, registration D-AFYR performing flight 4Y-135 from Mombasa (Kenya) to Frankfurt/Main (Germany), was climbing out of Mombasa's runway 03 when one of the engines (Trent 772) ingested a bird prompting the crew to stop the climb at 4000 feet and return to Mombasa for a safe landing on runway 21 about 25 minutes after departure. https://avherald.com/h?article=5185e51a&opt=0 Incident: Ethiopian DH8D at Addis Ababa on May 7th 2024, smoke in cabin An Ethiopian Airlines de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration ET-ARN performing flight ET-154 from Awasa to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), was enroute when thick smoke appeared in the cabin, however, was able to land in Addis Ababa. The passengers disembarked normally. The airline reported thick smoke appeared in the aircraft, which however landed safely at Addis Ababa, there were no injuries and was no damage. The occurrence is under investigation. Ethiopia's CAA opened an investigation into the occurrence. https://avherald.com/h?article=5185e006&opt=0 Accident: Fedex B763 at Istanbul on May 8th 2024, nose gear up landing A Fedex Federal Express Boeing 767-300 freighter, registration N110FE performing flight FX-6238 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Istanbul (Turkey), was on final approach to Istanbul's runway 16R when the crew initiated a go around from about 1800 feet MSL due to an unsafe indication for the nose gear. The aircraft performed a low approach to runway 16R about 25 minutes later, positioned for another approach to runway 16R and landed without nose gear on runway 16R at about 08:17L (05:17Z) about 40 minutes after the first go around. There were no injuries. https://avherald.com/h?article=5185cd90&opt=0 Incident: France B789 near Iqaluit on May 7th 2024, burning odour on board An Air France Boeing 787-9, registration F-HRBB performing flight AF-338 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Seattle,WA (USA) with 260 people on board, was enroute at FL390 about 460nm northwest of Iqaluit,NU (Canada) when the crew donned their oxygen masks and decided to divert to Iqaluit reporting a burning odour in the cockpit and cabin. The aircraft turned around, descended to FL360 for the diversion and landed safely on Iqaluit's runway 34 about one hour later. The airline reported the aircraft diverted to Iqaluit after "heat smell" appeared in the cabin. After landing passengers disembarked the aircraft while the aircraft is undergoing checks. Passengers and relatives however are complaining that the passengers are still stuck in the cabin about 3 hours after landing (and hours after the airline's claim the passengers disembarked) and have no access to their medications or relatives can't reach their family members. The airline cancelled flight AF-345 from Montreal,QC (Canada) to Paris obviously to send the aircraft, a Boeing 777-300 registration F-GSQT, to Iqaluit to pick the passengers up. https://avherald.com/h?article=518579cc&opt=0 Singapore Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashes at Tengah Air Base after ‘issue’ following take-off, pilot hospitalised The pilot ejected after the plane experienced an issue during take-off, the Defence Ministry said Singapore’s F-16 fleet was recently upgraded to improve its capabilities and keep them operationally ready until the mid-2030s A Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) F-16 jet crashed at Tengah Air Base shortly after taking off on Wednesday afternoon. The plane experienced “an issue” during take-off at about 12.35pm, said the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), adding that the pilot successfully ejected from the aircraft. “The pilot is conscious and able to walk. He is receiving medical attention. No other personnel is hurt,” said the ministry. Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in an update that the pilot did not suffer major injuries. “He is ambulant, conscious and talking. But as a precaution, he will stay in hospital for observation,” Ng said in a Facebook post. “His alertness and compliance to safety procedures to eject saved his life.” MINDEF said investigations are ongoing, adding that it will provide updates as soon as they become available. When CNA arrived at Tengah Air Base at about 2.45pm, no noticeable activity could be seen. Uniformed personnel who were at the airbase’s entrance declined to speak to the media. Singapore has operated the F-16 for nearly 30 years. The last time one of its fighter jets crashed was 20 years ago in May 2004, when an RSAF F-16C crashed during a night training mission in the US state of Arizona. The crash killed the 25-year-old Singaporean pilot, who was initially reported missing. A board of inquiry concluded that the incident was due to human factor, saying the pilot could have experienced gravity-induced loss of consciousness or spatial disorientation, which resulted in his inability to recover the aircraft from an inverted position. Ng said while the RSAF has a credible safety record, he was “obviously disappointed” over Wednesday’s incident. “The goal for the RSAF must still be zero crashes,” he said. “Full investigations are under way to make sure all factors are identified and rectified decisively.” Singapore’s F-16 fleet was recently upgraded to improve its capabilities and keep them operationally ready until the mid-2030s. These improvements include the Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar which allows the F-16 to track and engage multiple targets from farther away, as well as an all-weather, ground-attack capability that enables it to strike targets with more capable precision munitions. The ageing F-16 fleet will eventually be replaced by the F-35 family of Lockheed Martin jets. Singapore announced in February that it would buy eight F-35A jets, adding to an earlier order of 12 F-35 jets of the “B” variant. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3261891/singapore-air-force-f-16-fighter-jet-crashes-tengah-air-base-after-issue-following-take-pilot Some 787 Production Test Records Were Falsified, Boeing Says Boeing must inspect undelivered and in-production 787s to ensure some steps in the aircraft’s assembly were done correctly after learning that required tests to validate the work were recorded as complete but never conducted. A Boeing employee in the company’s South Carolina 787 final assembly facility “saw what appeared to be an irregularity in a required conformance test in wing-body join,” Scott Stocker, 787 vice president & general manager said in an April 29 email to employees that revealed the issue. The employee told his manager, who alerted “executive leadership,” the email said. Boeing “quickly reviewed the matter” and determined “several people had been violating company policies by not performing a required test, but recording the work as having been completed.” The manufacturer also “promptly” told the FAA, Stocker said. Boeing “voluntarily informed us in April that it may not have completed required inspections to confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner airplanes,” the agency said. “The FAA is investigating whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records.” Stocker said the required inspection “now needs to be conducted out of sequence on airplanes in the build process.” Checks will likely be required for the in-service fleet, but Boeing said it determined the issue does not pose any immediate safety risk. “Boeing is reinspecting all 787 airplanes still within the production system and must also create a plan to address the in-service fleet,” the FAA said. The immediate ramifications on delivery schedules is not clear. The re-checks “will impact our customers and factory teammates, because the test now needs to be conducted out of sequence on airplanes in the build process,” Stocker said. Stocker’s email, revealed publicly May 6 following a Wall Street Journal story, lauded the employee for coming forward. The issue is an example of “the kind of behavior we will and will not accept as a team,” the email added. The incident provides evidence that Boeing’s emphasis on spotlighting safety issues, even if they reflect poorly on the company, is paying dividends. It also underscores how far the company has to go, as falsification of safety-related records is arguably industry’s most egregious non-operational regulatory violation. “It brings the entire production certificate (PC) into question,” said one former FAA official with extensive aircraft certification experience. “A PC is really an expression of trust. Considering all the [Boeing issues] bubbling up ... the FAA may have no choice but to assume the falsification is widespread.” https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/some-787-production-test-records-were-falsified-boeing-says One Seattle-Bound Aircraft Evacuated, Another Diverted A planeload of Delta passengers left their A321 on slides instead of the jet bridge Monday after a fire started in the front landing gear well. Airport authorities said the fire started after the aircraft was plugged into shore power after a flight from Cancun. The crew called for an emergency evacuation with a PA announcement quoted by one passenger as: “Drop your belongings, unbuckle and head to the exits.” There were 189 passengers and six crew onboard and no one was hurt. Meanwhile, 272 passengers and crew on an Air France Boeing 787 who were also on their way to Seattle instead ended up spending the day in the remote town of Iqaluit in the Canadian territory of Nunavut on Tuesday. A “heat smell” in the cabin prompted the crew to make an emergency landing in the town of about 8,000 people, which, as the economic and government hub of the vast area, has an airport with an 8,605-foot runway. The Dreamliner will apparently have an extended stay in Iqaluit. The airline sent a 777 to pick up the passengers and it took off late Tuesday but it went to JFK instead of Seattle, leaving passengers with another six-hour flight to get to their destination. Airliners on the busy polar routes between North America and Europe use Iqaluit for diversions every few months, according to local officials. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/seattle-bound-aircraft-evacuated-diverted/ Delta, Southwest get top marks for customer satisfaction in J.D. Power airline survey Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines received top marks in J.D. Power’s North American airlines customer satisfaction survey for 2024. The firm’s results, announced Wednesday, noted that airlines investing in their staff are seeing more satisfied customers despite higher airfares compared to a year ago. “There are many aspects to the overall air travel experience that airlines cannot control, but one area in which they can profoundly influence is the positive effect that airline staff has on passengers,” Michael Taylor, J.D. Power’s senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail and customer service, said in a statement. “The big takeaway from this year’s study is the power of people to positively influence the overall flight experience. Airlines that are investing in staff training and recruitment are finding ways to overcome the negative effects of crowded gates and planes simply by being nice to their customers.” According to the survey, passengers’ main priorities are getting to their destinations easily and safely. That outweighs even ticket price in determining a traveler’s satisfaction with their chosen carrier. J.D. Power conducted its survey between March 2023 and March 2024, polling 9,582 passengers who traveled on a major North American airline during that period. Here’s how the carriers broke down. Delta Air Lines gets top marks in premium cabins • Delta Air Lines scored highest in both the first/business class and premium economy segments in J.D. Power’s survey, earning 743 points in the former and 716 points in the latter out of a possible 1,000. Delta’s strategy has emphasized premium service in recent years, and that position seems to be paying off. • JetBlue came in second in the first/business class category with 736 points, and the segment average was 701. Air Canada scored lowest for its most premium cabins, earning 629 points. • In premium economy, Alaska Airlines took the second spot with 687 points, beating the segment average of 675. • Air Canada again scored lowest in the premium economy sector, with 628 points. Southwest Airlines is a flyer favorite for economy • Southwest Airlines kept its position as the preferred economy carrier for the third year in a row, earning 685 points. The airline recently announced it is considering changes to its cabin layout and boarding process, which could upend one of the key differentiators between it and other airlines. • Delta Air Lines was second-favorite among economy travelers with 651 points, beating the segment average of 613. • Frontier Airlines scored the lowest in customer satisfaction, earning 472 points for its economy offering. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2024/05/08/delta-southwest-jd-power-satisfaction-survey/73588360007/ Airbus Or Boeing? Riyadh Air Plans New Narrow-Body Jet Order Amid Tight Supply The airline's executive did not detail which manufacturer it is planning to order from. SUMMARY • Riyadh Air will likely finalize its narrowbody order with either Airbus or Boeing within weeks. • The airline's executive noted that discussions are ongoing with both aircraft manufacturers. • So far, Riyadh Air has only ordered the Boeing 787-9 for its scheduled start of operations in 2025. • Riyadh Air, the Saudi Arabian airline that is scheduled to start operations in 2025, is nearing an order for narrowbody from either Airbus or Boeing, with the airline’s executive only saying that discussions were ongoing with both manufacturers. Done within the coming weeks According to Vincent Coste, the chief commercial officer (CCO) of Riyadh Air, the airline’s order for narrowbody jets should be done within the next weeks, as reported by Reuters. However, Coste emphasized that the carrier was in no rush to announce the order, and refused to to divulge whether it would be Airbus or Boeing. Coste worked at Air France, Air France-KLM, Qatar Airways, Kenya Airways, and Gulf Air before landing his latest role at Riyadh Air in July 2022. According to his LinkedIn profile, the Saudi airline should start selling tickets in January ahead of its launch in June 2025. So far, Riyadh Air has only ordered a batch of Boeing 787 aircraft. In March 2023, shortly after the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, spearheaded by Mohammed bin Salman, announced the launch of the airline, Riyadh Air ordered 72 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, split between 39 firm orders and 33 options. On the same day, SAUDIA, another Saudi Arabian airline, announced an order for up to 49 Boeing 787 aircraft, with the deal involving 39 firm orders and ten options for 787-9 and 787-10 aircraft. Eventually, Riyadh Air disclosed that its first Boeing 787 aircraft should arrive in 2025 ahead of its launch later in the year. However, the airline has already unveiled two liveries with two different Boeing 787-9 aircraft, namely an all-white livery with blue and lavender accents and a striking paintjob that covers the whole fuselage with a dark lavender color. Whichever way Riyadh Air’s pendulum swings, the delivery schedule could be complicated for the Saudi Arabian airline, considering that both Airbus and Boeing have sold out delivery slots for years to come due to the high demand for their single-aisle jets. While one option could be going for delivery slots held by aircraft lessor, the problem is compounded by the fact that both manufacturers are still struggling with supply chain issues, which weigh down their ability to hand over aircraft on time. For Boeing, the Alaska Airlines flight AS1282 incident in January has only made the issue worse, with the manufacturer voluntarily lowering its production volume to address the safety and quality issues at its assembly sites. Furthermore, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said that until it was satisfied with the manufacturer’s improvements in both aspects, it would be unable to raise production rates beyond the current approved monthly rate for the 737 MAX, namely 38 per month. https://simpleflying.com/riyadh-air-plans-narrow-body-jet-order/ Enhancing runway safety with landing factors In the corporate jet sector, runway excursion accidents remain particularly prevalent. Runway safety, particularly runway excursions, remains one of aviation's top safety concerns. Accidents caused by runway excursions are the most common aviation accident type, and the rate and number of occurrences worldwide have remained steady over the past decade. A tale of two sectors But, there is progress. The data shows that although the absolute number of accidents and incidents and the severity still indicate a very high risk, the number of runway excursion accidents involving aircraft operated by airlines has in fact reduced. However, in the corporate jet sector, runway excursion accidents remain particularly prevalent. According to the Flight Safety Foundation’s 2022 Safety Report, runway excursion accidents occurred 16 times between 2017-2022 in the airliner category, but 79 times in the corporate jet category - of which 66 were during the landing phase. Mitigating risk So what can be done? In commercial aviation, improvements in runway excursion occurrences have followed the implementation of several measures to mitigate the risks of runway excursions. These include the introduction in 2021 of ICAO’s New Global Reporting Format for Runway Surface Conditions, additional pilot go-around training and tightening of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure an aircraft is correctly positioned for a safe landing. Airline SOPs specify stable approach criteria: at 1000ft flight crew are required to be on the correct approach profile, in the landing configuration and at the target speed. If not, a go-around must be performed. Similarly, if during the flare, it is obvious to the pilots the aircraft will not touchdown within the touchdown zone, a go-around must be performed. Better decision-making is a training focus, facilitated by missed approach training in recurrent checks with an emphasis placed on the benefits of a more rule-based approach. In airline operations, flight planners and pilots are obliged to comply with these regulations and are closely monitored. As a result, the sector is now experiencing a reduction in runway excursion accidents. Business aviation strategies Within business aviation, private operators may not have to comply with the same regulations as airlines. Still, efforts are similarly underway to reduce risks and improve runway safety, particularly on landing. In its analysis of the corporate jet sector, the Foundation's findings focused on five categories (runway excursions, loss of control, gear-up/collapsed landing, ground damage and turbulence) which accounted for approximately 70 percent of the accidents during the six-year period under review. Runway excursion accidents led the accident type list and the 79 occurrences were more than double the next highest known accident type loss of control. As a result of these findings, the FSF and Eurocontrol coordinated aviation professionals from more than 40 organizations to develop the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Excursions (GAPPRE), a comprehensive two-year plan to identify risks and implement mitigation measures to enhance runway safety validated by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the International Air Transport Association, and supported by the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Precision planning So what are the measures? For aircraft operators, there are 35 risk mitigation proposals, including: Development and training on go-around standard operating procedures Defining what a stabilized approach looks like Training on EFB performance applications used for takeoff and landing performance calculations In the US, the FAA recently updated AC 91-79B, Aircraft Landing Performance and Runway Excursion Mitigation. Like the GAPPRE, the AC stresses that pilots should calculate landing performance twice. Calculations should be based on AFM data, using expected conditions for landing at the ETA, and with relevant landing factors applied. The first calculations are made during pre-departure flight planning and then again in-flight, ideally before top-of-descent, as a time of arrival (TOA) landing distance assessment. The in-flight landing distance calculation should allow for any actual runway surface conditions which affects braking action - an aircraft needs more stopping distance on a wet, snowy or icy runway than on a dry runway. Pilots can use the Runway Condition Code (RCC) reported by the airport ATIS, or derive an RCC from the Runway Condition Assessment Matrix (RCAM) based on the reported depth and type of runway contaminant. These performance calculations are a necessary part of improving landing safety and mitigating runway excursion risks, yet are complex and time-consuming. Remember the need to calculate pre-departure landing performance for all required alternate airfields, too. Fortunately for corporate jet pilots, there are now sophisticated tools that can assist. Flight planning software from ForeFlight makes the entire calculation process straightforward, fast and accurate. The ForeFlight Mobile app is increasingly used by business aviation operators for its runway analysis capabilities for takeoff and landing performance. The recently upgraded landing performance workflow supports both preflight and inflight landing distance calculations. Landing factors in real-time Let's consider a practical scenario to illustrate the application of landing performance assessment using information from ForeFlight Mobile. Suppose a Part 135 flight is scheduled from San Antonio, TX (KSAT), to Miami Opa-Locka Executive (KOPF) using a Phenom 300E aircraft. The weather forecast at ETA indicates steady rain and an approach to runway 12 can be expected. During preflight planning, the Landing Distance at Time of Arrival (LDTA) calculation reveals a required landing field length of 4213 ft, which includes the required 60% landing factor and a 15% safety margin for wet runway conditions. Given that the Landing Distance Available (LDA) on runway 12 exceeds the calculated 4213 ft, the flight can be dispatched with confidence using ForeFlight's precise landing performance analysis. ForeFlight ForeFlight also allows operators to customize the displayed landing factors based on their specific operational requirements. By selecting the appropriate factors based on regulatory requirements, operational procedures, and reported runway conditions, operators can optimize landing performance assessments and enhance safety outcomes. Effective landing performance assessment is paramount in mitigating the risk of runway excursions. ForeFlight’s Runway Analysis and Weight & Balance work together to continually calculate and validate data in the background, surface messages if limits are exceeded or critical data is missing, and quickly call attention to areas that need addressing. Changes to any aspect of the flight plan trigger fast recalculations of performance data, allowing pilots to focus on other vital tasks instead of copying data between applications or manually adjusting for changing conditions. And through the integrated flight releases between Dispatch and ForeFlight Mobile, both flight planners and pilots can collaboratively update Runway Analysis and Weight & Balance calculations in real-time. Empowering pilots Ultimately, the decision to continue to land rests with the pilot. ForeFlight Mobile can’t fly the aircraft, nor make a landing decision. But what it does offer is a comprehensive tool to provide simple, fast and accurate runway analysis to help you make well-informed decisions for safe landings, every flight. Learn more about Foreflight’s Runway Analysis capabilities https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2024-05-07/enhancing-runway-safety-landing-factors CALENDAR OF EVENTS • Gulf Flight Safety Association (GFSA) Conference, May 15 & 16 2024, Jeddah • 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