Flight Safety Information - June 26, 2024 No. 127 In This Issue : Incident: Biman B738 near Dhaka on Jun 25th 2024, cracked windshield : Incident: Republic E175 at Newark on Jun 24th 2024, cracked windshield : BAe 146-300 (QT) - TailStrike (Australia) : Hong Kong’s Cathay pulls 3 cadet pilots from US training programme after serious blunders : Rubbish-filled North Korea balloons prompt closure of Seoul airport : Japan Airlines staff raise safety concerns following several incidents : Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines flights disrupted by pressurization problems : US FAA adopts airworthiness directive for 13 Boeing 757-200 US planes : Privatization of Pakistan International Airlines due in August 2024 – sources : Rosaviatsia stops publishing Russian airlines fleet data : Asiana Airlines unions object to KAL takeover – 'find another buyer' plea : Allegiant Air to end base operations at Austin airport, citing space constraints at main terminal : Wheels Up Lays Off 11% of Its Pilot Staff : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: Biman B738 near Dhaka on Jun 25th 2024, cracked windshield A Biman Bangladesh Boeing 737-800, registration S2-AFL performing flight BG-127 from Chittagong (Bangladesh) to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) with 146 people on board, was enroute at FL300 near Kolkata (India) when the crew decided to turn around and divert to Dhaka (Bangladesh) reporting a cracked windshield. The aircraft entered holds to burn off fuel and landed safely on Dhaka's runway 14 about 2:50 hours later. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration S2-AEQ reached Abu Dhabi with a delay of about 4.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 19 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=51a5b080&opt=0 Incident: Republic E175 at Newark on Jun 24th 2024, cracked windshield A Republic Airways Embraer ERJ-175 on behalf of United, registration N763YX performing flight UA-3702 from Newark,NJ to Greenville-Spartanburg,SC (USA), was climbing out of Newark's runway 22R when the crew stopped the climb at 7000 feet reporting they had a cracked windshield. The aircraft returned to Newark for a safe landing on runway 29 about 40 minutes after departure. A replacement Embraer ERJ-175 registration N746YX reached Greenville-Spartanburg with a delay of 3.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Newark about 16 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=51a55151&opt=0 BAe 146-300 (QT) - TailStrike (Australia) Date: Tuesday 25 June 2024 Time: c. 05:44 LT Type: BAe 146-300 (QT) Owner/operator: ASL Airlines Australia Registration: VH-SAJ MSN: E3150 Year of manufacture: 1989 Engine model: Honeywell ALF502 R-5 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Minor Category: Serious incident Location: Brisbane International Airport, QLD (BNE/YBBN) - Australia Phase: Landing Nature: Passenger - Scheduled Departure airport: Sydney-Kingsford Smith International Airport, NSW (SYD/YSSY) Destination airport: Brisbane International Airport, QLD (BNE/YBBN) Investigating agency: ATSB Confidence Rating: Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities Narrative: Qantas flight QF7295, a BAe 146-300 operated by ASL Airlines Australia, suffered a tailstrike following an unstable approach to Brisbane Airport (BNE), Australia. There were no injuries. https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/390068 Hong Kong’s Cathay pulls 3 cadet pilots from US training programme after serious blunders Airline says trio failed to comply with flight incident reporting requirements, decision made due to ‘zero tolerance’ over such failures Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has removed three cadet pilots from a training programme after three serious blunders at a US-based training centre, citing its “zero tolerance” over non-compliance with flight incident reporting requirements. The company said on Wednesday it made its decision after the trio failed to comply with the requirements at the AeroGuard Flight Training Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. The move followed the completion of a comprehensive investigation by the training school in collaboration with Cathay and relevant authorities, it said. Cathay Pacific’s director of flight operations, Chris Kempis, said it recognised mistakes would occur, with opportunities given to students to learn and improve, but it would not tolerate non-compliance with core requirements. “A just and open reporting culture is at the centre of our values. Being aligned with this culture is fundamental to being a Cathay Pacific pilot,” he said. “However, we have a zero-tolerance approach to non-compliance with flight incident reporting requirements. We are committed to providing comprehensive training and ensuring that our future pilots are well-equipped to uphold the highest levels of safety and professionalism.” The carrier said solo flights, which had been suspended during the investigation, had now resumed at the centre. Concerns were raised after AeroGuard banned solo flights by Hong Kong trainees following a string of major mistakes in three weeks – a wingtip collision with a fixed object, a bounced landing which caused a substantial impact to the aircraft’s propeller and a plane which ran off a runway. Jay Meade, AeroGuard’s vice-president and head of training, told Cathay cadets in an email early this month that the pilots involved in the incidents had elected to continue with their missions, but they should have spoken to their duty flight instructor before proceeding. The cadets had thus failed to meet “expectations regarding training, guidance and direction, as related to the application of proper aeronautical decision-making”, he said. Cathay vowed to strengthen the reporting culture among its cadets. “Going forward, our just and open reporting culture as well as the appropriate communication process for reporting flight incidents will continue to be reinforced among all Cathay Pacific cadet pilots through additional training,” it said. The carrier said it had an “extremely stringent” recruitment and assessment process for its cadets. It said fewer than 8 per cent of applicants were accepted into its cadet programme and then went on to complete the related training and assessment to become a second officer. “All qualifying cadet pilots after graduation from their initial 60-week course are required to undergo further induction training in order to join the company and be endorsed as second officers on one of Cathay Pacific’s aircraft,” the airline said. The company added the training involved further assessments before they could operate, under supervision, as second officers. “The Cathay Group’s rebuild and training schedule remains on track,” it said. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3268086/hong-kongs-cathay-pulls-3-cadet-pilots-us-training-programme-after-serious-blunders Rubbish-filled North Korea balloons prompt closure of Seoul airport Several balloons were spotted in and around the airport boundaries, as one balloon landed on the tarmac near passenger terminal two Takeoffs and landings at South Korea’s Incheon international airport have been disrupted for about three hours because of balloons launched by North Korea filled with refuse, an airport spokesperson said. One balloon landed on the tarmac near passenger terminal two and the three runways at Incheon were temporarily shut down on Wednesday, the spokesperson said. North Korea has flown balloons carrying rubbish into South Korea since late May, with hundreds landing in South Korea. Several balloons were spotted in and around the airport boundaries, the spokesperson said, adding that this was not the first time operations at the airport – which is about 40km from the North Korean border – had been disrupted by balloons nearby. The disruption to domestic and international flights occurred between 1.46am and 4.44am on Wednesday, and the runways have reopened since then, Incheon International Airport Corporation said. Flight volume at that time of day is usually low. FlightRadar24 showed eight arriving cargo and passenger flights were diverted to South Korea’s Cheongju or Jeju airports during that time, and one China Cargo freighter from Shanghai was diverted to Yantai, China. Several more landings were delayed, and departures were delayed by several hours. North Korea has said the balloons are retaliation for a propaganda campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in the South who regularly send over balloons carrying food, medicine, money and leaflets criticising the North’s leaders. Among the items carried by the North Korean balloons have been articles printed with Hello Kitty characters, badly worn clothing, and soil containing traces of human faeces and parasites, South Korea has said. South Korea’s military on Wednesday said about 100 balloons had fallen to the ground between Tuesday and Wednesday, mostly in the capital, Seoul, and the surrounding Gyeonggi province. Most carried just scraps of paper. https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/26/seouls-airport-runways-closed-by-rubbish-filled-balloons-sent-from-north-korea Japan Airlines staff raise safety concerns following several incidents Pilots and ground handling staff employed by Japan Airlines (JAL) have voiced concerns over training shortfalls and difficulties communicating with more senior employees following a string of recent safety incidents at the carrier. In terms of the pilot workforce, with many pilots having retired early during the pandemic, the airline has recruited flight crews to fill those open cockpit positions in the time since. However, this has resulted in a flying environment where few pilots know each other and often meet for the first time on the flight deck. Such an environment is making it more difficult for pilots to communicate and interact with each other in a country where a seniority-based hierarchy is still very much installed in the national psyche, said unnamed sources employed by the airline. Equally, during the pandemic, many ground handling staff aged between 30 and 50 left JAL to secure employment elsewhere as they were unable to see a recovery in the airline industry in the short term, effectively breaking the connection between older workers and younger staff. Where the older staff would once have acted as mentors to new recruits, the dynamic has shifted so that there are fewer more experienced staff to train newcomers leading to an experience gap in the workforce, Although JAL has declined to comment formally on the allegations of safety issues at the carrier, the Japanese airline touched upon the lack of skilled workforce at its shareholder meeting earlier in June 2024. “We failed to build an environment where ground staff could ensure safety amid various pressures and that led to the series of incidents,” said Munekazu Tachibana, the carrier’s senior vice president of corporate safety and security. JAL operations have come under additional scrutiny since the accident at Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) in January 2024 when one of its Airbus A350s was destroyed following a collision with a Japanese Coast Guard plane on the runway. Although the incident was not the fault of the JAL crew in any way, the accident has opened the carrier to additional scrutiny over its own safety processes and procedures. Other incidents In November 2023, a JAL aircraft crossed the runway at Seattle-Tacoma Airport (SEA) without clearance. In a subsequent safety report issued to the Japanese government, the carrier said the captain had misunderstood the air traffic controller’s instructions and even though the co-pilot doubted they had clearance to line up, he failed to speak up due to the fear of overruling the captain. In May 2024, at Fukuoka Airport (FUK) in southwest Japan, a JAL pilot allegedly failed to correctly repeat air traffic controller (ATC) instructions and subsequently moved beyond a runway stop line, entering the airport’s active runway without the control tower’s clearance. In another incident also in May 2024, the wingtips of two JAL aircraft came into contact at Haneda airport as one was being pushed back from the terminal to prepare for take-off while the other was moving forward to enter an adjacent parking position. Then, on June 22, 2024, a J-Air (a JAL subsidiary) Embraer 170 bound for Osaka-Itami returned to Aomori Airport in the country’s north after a cockpit signal indicated that one of its engines had caught fire. Japan’s transport ministry, speaking in March 2024, said that JAL is facing a challenge securing sufficient captains as many of them are currently aged in their 50s and are set to retire by around 2030. Meanwhile, the majority of co-pilots at the carrier are in their 20s to early 40s. JAL employs around 2,000 pilots. On June 24, 2024, the transport ministry also said that it was planning to strengthen runway encroachment measures, including installing a sound feature, in addition to a message, that would go off on air traffic control screens if there’s a danger of two aircraft colliding. Additionally, the ministry is considering increasing the number of air traffic controllers to bolster safety. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/jal-safety-concerns-2024 Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines flights disrupted by pressurization problems SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A Korean Air flight to Taiwan was forced to return to Incheon airport west of Seoul after a sudden depressurization on the plane, a Boeing 737 Max 8, the transport ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said 19 of the 133 people aboard the flight Saturday were sent to hospitals due to ear pain and nosebleeds, but none suffered serious injuries. The airline and the ministry said the cause of the problem was under investigation. The aircraft was grounded and the ministry ordered South Korea’s 11 airlines to examine pressurization systems in all their 400 aircraft. The sudden depressurization occurred about 50 minutes after the flight’s departure. Separately, Malaysia Airlines said one of its flights en route to Bangkok on Monday made a U-turn back to Kuala Lumpur after the Airbus A-330 experienced a “pressurization issue.” Malaysia Airlines said its pilots initiated an emergency descent even though the aircraft had not reached the altitude of 8,000 feet and oxygen masks were not deployed. Flight MH780 was carrying 164 passengers and 12 crew members. An investigation was underway. The 737 Max has a troubled history. After Max jets crashed in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia, killing 346 people, the FAA and other regulators grounded the aircraft worldwide for more than a year and a half. Concerns over the company’s best-selling commercial aircraft were renewed after a panel blew out of a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. No one was seriously injured in the incident. https://apnews.com/article/airline-depressurization-malaysia-korea-a70a54cc08e5f73943b1e14197de3742 US FAA adopts airworthiness directive for 13 Boeing 757-200 US planes June 26 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it is adopting a new airworthiness directive for 13 Boeing 757-200 airplanes of U.S. registry over reports of cracking in the structure in and around the lavatory service panel. Airworthiness directives are legally enforceable regulations issued by the FAA to correct an unsafe condition in a product. The FAA said stress concentrations in the lavatory service panel access pan, the fuselage skin, and the stringer 22 attachment to the service panel are too high, causing fatigue cracking. That, in turn, could result in an in-flight depressurization and reduced structural integrity of the aircraft if not addressed, the FAA said. It said the directive impacts 757-200 planes modified by particular supplemental type certificates. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-faa-adopts-airworthiness-directive-13-boeing-757-200-planes-2024-06-26/ Privatization of Pakistan International Airlines due in August 2024 – sources The long-awaited privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is expected to take place in early August 2024, according to a report published by the ARY News agency in Pakistan. Having obtained expressions of interest from several potential investors earlier in 2024, the authorities in charge of the process are understood to have selected a consortium of six companies to form a shortlist of candidates to take over the nationalized carrier. According to sources close to the proceedings, the authorities have been engaged in the process of providing the required information and data to the consortium of shortlisted companies. This consortium consists of six parties, identified by the Business Insider publication as Air Blue, Arif Habib Corporation, Blue World City, Fly Jinnah, Pak Ethanol Consortium, and the YB Holdings Consortium. The companies that have made it onto the shortlist making up the pre-qualified consortium will now be eligible to participate in the full bidding process for PIA. The final decision will be based on submissions received from the parties in that process. The pathway to privatization was set out during the Privatisation Commission Board meeting, chaired by Federal Privatization Minister Aleem Khan earlier in June 2024. During that meeting, Aleem Khan reiterated the administration’s “unwavering commitment to ensuring a transparent, efficient privatization process for all state-owned enterprises that are incurring significant losses.” To maintain the highest level of transparency, and foster confidence among stakeholders, Khan suggested broadcasting the privatization proceedings live on various media platforms – a proposal that is yet to be confirmed. The update comes following a previous meeting back in April 2024, following which the country’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb emphasized that the PIA privatization process was expected to be complete by the end of June or early July 2024, with Islamabad Airport potentially following suit shortly afterward onto the market. “We will ensure the transparent and swift privatization of all loss-making institutions,” Aleem Khan was quoted as saying in the statement. “The technical and financial stability of the institutions participating in the privatization process will be taken into account. We are privatizing loss-making institutions to stabilize the national economy,” the minister added. PIA suffered a major setback to its privatization plans back at the start of June 2024 after the European Union Commission decided to continue restrictions imposed on Pakistan-based airlines, including national carrier PIA from being permitted to fly to airports within Europe. The decision followed a detailed and lengthy safety audit carried out by the EU Air Safety Committee in November 2023 into that country’s aviation sector. Following its review, the Committee determined that there were insufficient grounds to amend the current list of air carriers prohibited from operating within the EU. The decision had been keenly awaited by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), who had been expecting PIA to be cleared to resume flights to EU airports following the audit. Without the clearances required to resume flying to major European hubs such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, PIA’s ability to operate on some of the routes that it historically found its most lucrative will be a point to consider before any potential investor finally commits to signing a contract to take ownership of the carrier. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/pakistan-international-airlines-privatization-latest Rosaviatsia stops publishing Russian airlines fleet data The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) has ceased publishing data on the number of aircraft in the fleets of Russian airlines. This information was previously publicly available in the airline register on the agency’s website, indicating the type and number of aircraft included in each carrier’s operator certificate. However, as first noted by the aviation portal ATO.ru, the latest version of the register, dated April 18, 2024, only lists the types of aircraft included in each airline’s air operator certificate without specifying the numbers. The last register to include detailed aircraft numbers was published on October 20, 2023. At that time, 116 Russian companies held operator certificates for 2,228 aircraft and helicopters. Rosaviation explained to Kommersant that removing fleet numbers from the public website is necessary to “optimize published information.” Industry sources told the publication that this change could help Russian carriers circumvent sanctions and enable them to replenish their fleets by using secondary markets in so-called “friendly countries.” On June 24, 2024, the European Union added Ural Airlines, one of Russia’s largest airlines, air logistics company Volga-Dnepr, and airport operator Novaport to an updated list of sanctioned entities due to their participation or support in Russia’s invasion and occupation of Ukraine. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/rosaviatsia-stops-publishing-russian-airlines-fleet-data Asiana Airlines unions object to KAL takeover – 'find another buyer' plea Trade unions at Asiana Airlines yesterday lodged objections to the merger with Korean Air Lines (KAL). The opposition comes more than a week after Air Incheon was chosen to acquire Asiana’s cargo arm, a condition of the merger deal.. Asiana’s pilots’ union and a union of office employees claimed KAL’s absorption of Asiana would result in “national and public harm”. Both unions urged the Korea Development Bank, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Fair Trade Commission, which have jurisdiction over the deal, to “review the merger from the ground up and find another buyer.” The unions also claim the merger would cause a reduction of flights between South Korea and Europe, to the detriment of consumers. The unions said: “The so-called mega-carrier that KAL promoted has become nothing more than a façade, serving only as a means for chief executive Cho Won-tae (Walter Cho) to defend his management rights.” Reminiscent of HMM’s employees’ objection to Harim Group’s failed takeover of HMM, Asiana’s union claims Air Incheon is “like a shrimp trying to swallow a whale”. The South Korean government is pushing for KAL to acquire the heavily indebted Asiana. To satisfy the European Commission’s anti-trust authority, KAL is transferring its Seoul to Frankfurt, Paris, Rome and Barcelona routes to compatriot low-cost carrier T’way Air. The union response to that is: “KAL has decided to give back a large number of transportation rights to proceed with the unreasonable merger, resulting in the transfer of trillions of won [$billions] in annual revenue from national carriers to foreign airlines.” So far, 13 countries have given a green light for KAL’s takeover of Asiana, with only approval from the US pending. KAL hopes to finalise the divestment of Asiana’s cargo arm by October. https://theloadstar.com/asiana-airlines-unions-object-to-kal-takeover-find-another-buyer-plea/ Allegiant Air to end base operations at Austin airport, citing space constraints at main terminal AUSTIN (KXAN) — Allegiant Air will end its base operations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport early next year, citing space constraints as preparations continue ahead of the closure of the South Terminal. Allegiant established the base for employees and aircraft in 2021 at a cost of $75 million. At the time, the airline said it would create at least 89 new jobs. Base operations are scheduled to end on Jan. 7, 2025, according to an airline spokesperson. Despite the closure, Austin is still an “important city” to Allegiant’s network, the spokesperson said. “Because of the South Terminal’s closure, Allegiant will eventually relocate to the main terminal,” the spokesperson told KXAN in a statement. “Unfortunately, the gate space we have been offered will not allow us to sustain our base at AUS. However, we will continue to serve Austin with all flights operating as turns from other bases, providing our customers with the exceptional service they have come to expect from Allegiant.” The closure of the South Terminal is anticipated in early 2026 as part of the airport’s Expansion and Development Program. A new midfield concourse is planned in its place, along with supporting infrastructure, such as a new connector tunnel to the main terminal and new taxiways. Because of the closure, Allegiant and Frontier Airlines will move flights to the Barbara Jordan Terminal. Lawsuit against city regarding South Terminal closed following settlement An airport spokesperson confirmed to KXAN that “options” were offered to Allegiant to move its crew base to the main terminal, but further details could not be provided. The spokesperson reiterated that the base closure does not mean Allegiant will stop flights from AUS. “We remain committed to supporting their numerous nonstop flights from AUS and appreciate the important value they bring to Central Texas travelers,” the airport spokesperson said. “Their nonstop flights from the South Terminal will continue until it’s time to relocate them to the Barbara Jordan Terminal.” In the first five months of 2024, Allegiant carried more than 121,000 passengers in and out of AUS, accounting for 1.4% of passenger traffic at the airport. Allegiant currently operates 18 nonstop routes from Austin, including a new route to Eugene, Oregon, which launched on May 31. https://www.kxan.com/news/allegiant-air-to-end-base-operations-at-austin-airport-citing-space-constraints-at-main-terminal/ Wheels Up Lays Off 11% of Its Pilot Staff Headcount reduction was concentrated to its King Air pilots Wheels Up laid off 11% of its pilots today, citing a “staffing imbalance” caused by “a sharp decline in our pilot attrition rates in the first half due in part to a reduction of pilot hiring at the airlines and pilots choosing to stay at Wheels Up.” Layoffs were reportedly concentrated to King Air flight crewmembers and pared its estimated pilot ranks from 950 to 850. “Aligning our pilot organization with the size of our fleet is critical to the success and health of our business, and the abnormalities in the industry over these last few months made appropriate staffing forecasting against regular attrition challenging,” Wheels Up said in a statement. “As we navigate through this difficult period of change, we want to once again acknowledge the pivotal roles that all of our team members play in ensuring our operation reflects the high standards we have set for ourselves, our members, and our customers.” This marks the first time the company, which is majority owned by a consortium led by Delta Air Lines, has laid off pilots. In March 2023, a $30 million restructuring resulted in reduced headcount of non-operational staff and specifically excluded “pilots, maintenance, and operations-support personnel.” Wheels Up reported a $487 million loss last year, and a $97 million shortfall in the first quarter. In April, the company consolidated maintenance facilities, closing its repair bases in Broomfield, Colorado, and Cincinnati. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2024-06-25/wheels-lays-11-its-pilot-staff CALENDAR OF EVENTS • Airborne Public Safety Association, Inc. (APSCON 2024) - July 29 - August 3; Houston TX • Asia Pacific Summit for Aviation Safety (AP-SAS 2024), Aug. 13-15, Beijing, China. • 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 • Safeskies Australia Conference, Canberra Australia - 16th and 17th of October 2024 - www.safeskiesaustralia.org • 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition - Oct. 22-24 (Vegas) • Sixth Edition of International Accident Investigation Forum, 21 to 23 May 2025, Singapore Curt Lewis