Flight Safety Information - July 15, 2024 No. 140 In This Issue : Incident: PAL DH8D at Busuanga on Jul 14th 2024, overran runway on landing : Incident: Delta B752 near St. Louis on Jul 13th 2024, loss of cabin pressure : Incident: UPS B763 near Sydney on Jul 13th 2024, fuel leak : Incident: Skywest CRJ9 at Grand Rapids on Jul 11th 2024, blew tyre on departure : Airbus A319-132 - Air Return For Undefined Odour (Germany) : Laptop fire caused American Airlines jet to be evacuated : FAA Investigates Airline That Used 'Unqualified' Pilots : Steering Breaks on Boeing Aircraft Mid-Air : NTSB REPORT REVEALS DETAILS OF FATAL COVELO PLANE CRASH : Atlanta airport ranked No. 1 in country for guns caught at checkpoints, TSA says : Russia to begin domestic production of ersatz spare parts for Boeing and Airbus aircraft : BOEING RECEIVES ORDER FOR 35 737 MAX AIRCRAFT : What IT can learn from aviation safety : As Boeing bleeds cash, Airbus predicts it'll double the size of its fleet worldwide in the next 20 years : Boeing starts 777-9 certification flight trials with the FAA : Things a flight attendant says they would never do : Calendar of Events Incident: PAL DH8D at Busuanga on Jul 14th 2024, overran runway on landing A PAL Philippine Airlines de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration RP-C5905 performing flight PR-2680 from Cebu to Busuanga (Philippines) with 53 passengers and 4 crew, landed on Busuanga's runway 26 at 14:51L (06:51Z) but overran the end of the runway and came to a stop on soft ground about 100 meters/330 feet past the end of the paved surface. There were no injuries, the aircraft received minor if any damage. The airline reported the aircraft overshot the runway due to poor weather conditions. At the time of the landing there was heavy rain. https://avherald.com/h?article=51b1e60d&opt=0 Incident: Delta B752 near St. Louis on Jul 13th 2024, loss of cabin pressure A Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N550NW performing flight DL-927 from Jackson,WY to Atlanta,GA (USA) with 148 passengers and 6 crew, was enroute at FL410 about 160nm northwest of St. Louis,MO (USA) when the crew initiated an emergency descent to 10,000 feet due to the loss of cabin pressure. The aircraft subsequently diverted to St. Louis for a safe landing about 35 minutes after leaving FL410. A replacement Boeing 757-200 registration N690DL reached Atlanta with a delay of about 6 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in St. Louis about 22 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=51b1fc8d&opt=0 Incident: UPS B763 near Sydney on Jul 13th 2024, fuel leak A UPS United Parcel Service Boeing 767-300, registration N331UP performing flight 5X-152 from Sydney,NS (Australia) to Shenzhen (China) with 3 crew, was enroute at FL340 about 380nm northwest of Sydney when the crew decided to return to Sydney reporting they had a fuel leak. The aircraft maintained FL340 for the return and landed safely back in Sydney about 65 minutes later. The aircraft is still on the ground in Sydney about 6 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=51b167a2&opt=0 Incident: Skywest CRJ9 at Grand Rapids on Jul 11th 2024, blew tyre on departure A Skywest Airlines Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of Delta Airlines, registration N840SK performing flight DL-4095 from Grand Rapids,MI to Minneapolis,MN (USA), departed Grand Rapids' runway 26L and blew a tyre on departure. The aircraft climbed to FL280 and landed in Minneapolis without further incident about 70 minutes after departure. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT LANDED AT MINNEAPOLIS WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT AFTER A TIRE BLEW ON DEPARTURE FROM GRR AIRPORT. POST-FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO INBOARD FLAPS." The aircraft returned to service about 21 hours after landing in Minneapolis. https://avherald.com/h?article=51b0c992&opt=0 Airbus A319-132 - Air Return For Undefined Odour (Germany) Date: Monday 15 July 2024 Time: 06:12 UTC Type: Airbus A319-132 Owner/operator: Eurowings Registration: D-AGWF MSN: 3172 Year of manufacture: 2007 Engine model: IAE V2524-A5 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: None Location: Berlin Brandenburg-Willy Brandt Airport (BER/EDDB) - Germany Phase: Initial climb Nature: Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi Departure airport: Berlin Brandenburg-Willy Brandt Airport (BER/EDDB) Destination airport: Manchester International Airport (MAN/EGCC) Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources Narrative: Eurowings flight EW8470, an Airbus A319-132, returned to land back at Berlin after an "undefined odour" was noted in the cabin. The aircraft landed 17 minutes after takeoff and taxied to the apron where all passengers deplaned. https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/401502 Laptop fire caused American Airlines jet to be evacuated A laptop fire on a passenger jet precipitated a dramatic emergency evacuation on Friday. American Airlines Flight 2045 was getting ready to fly from San Franciso to Miami when the cabin started to fill with smoke - it was coming from the rear of the plane, from a laptop bag. As the airplane was still on the tarmac, there were only three minor injuries in the rush to disembark using the airbridge and slides. However, one passenger needed to be taken for further treatment. “Do not take your bags!” This is tense. Fire breaks out on American Airlines plane in San Francisco. Emergency evacuation slowed down by selfish passengers insisting on taking their bags out of the overhead bins. pic.twitter.com/O9T012kJWTJuly 13, 2024 A statement from American Airlines, as reported by CBS News, says "the bag was quickly removed by our crew members and all customers exited the aircraft." The airline also apologized for the inconvenience caused to its customers and thanked staff for their professional handling of the situation. You can see in the Twitter/X video embedded above that the situation was highly charged and quite terrifying for some passengers. We looked at several reports about the American Airlines laptop fire but didn’t find any sources that could provide further details about the laptop model involved or any indication of why it might spontaneously combust. Current airline regulations state that laptops should be only carried in hand luggage and contain batteries rated at 100Wh or lower. Thus, we see workstation replacement-style laptops often boast of having a 99 Wh battery. However, up to two extra battery packs of up to 160Wh are permissible with airline approval. These battery-limiting regulations started to roll out worldwide in the late noughties, as we began to see dangers in the thirst for high-capacity high power density batteries. Lithium-based batteries, as used by devices like smartphones, tablets, portable game consoles, and laptops have been behind many reports of tech going bad over the last couple of decades. Dangerous devices are often recalled after a brief period of availability, but in the interim may have caused serious fires or even explosions. Have a quick search through the Tom’s Hardware archives for plenty of examples. Probably the most notorious 'accidentally incendiary' electronic device is a smartphone, though, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Circling back to the American Airlines jet evacuation story, one of the passengers pondered over the probable cause of the fire on the jet. "Sometimes, they do get hot," if you close a device but they don't sleep properly or shut down, the passenger mused, reports CBS. I’ve experienced a severe overheating issue with a Dell Latitude that didn't sleep or shut down when the lid was closed - but I caught it before there was much in the way of smoke (or fire) thanks to a strong burning plastic smell. The battery in that device could be quickly detached using a sliding mechanism, but it couldn't be used again as the keyboard keys had melted. https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/laptop-fire-caused-american-airlines-jet-to-be-evacuated FAA Investigates Airline That Used 'Unqualified' Pilots The U.S. civil aviation regulator is penalizing a private jet company, which allegedly allowed "unqualified" individuals to pilot a plane that had not undergone mandatory equipment checks. On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration published a statement, saying it was investigating Crow Executive Air Inc over the two separate offences. According to the FAA, Crow Executive Air, a Perrysburg Ohio-based chartered airline, allowed "two unqualified pilots" to fly customers on one of its planes. The FAA, the agency tasked with regulating the manufacture, maintenance, and operation of aircraft, has proposed a $67,500 civil penalty against the chartered airline as a result. Crow charges about $50,000 for a one-way flight from Los Angeles to New York. Newsweek has contacted Crow Executive Air by email for comment on the FAA's probe. The FAA did not specify how the pilots were unqualified, but FAA requirements demand that pilots clock at least 40 hours of flight time and undergo medical evaluation by an FAA examiner before receiving their private pilot certificate. The two unqualified pilots allegedly flew customers on 10 separate flights. Crow is also accused of failing to perform a "required equipment check" on the Cessna Citation aircraft which the pilots were flying. Citations are one of the jets in Crow's fleet, alongside those manufactured by Pilatus, Cirrus and Beechcraft. According to the FAA, the flights occurred when "checks were overdue for a piece of navigation equipment." Newsweek has contacted the FAA to inquire about the pilots' qualifications and what "required equipment check" Crow Executive Air failed to carry out. Crow has 30 days from Wednesday to respond to the FAA's enforcement letter. https://www.newsweek.com/faa-fines-private-plane-company-1924395 Steering Breaks on Boeing Aircraft Mid-Air A pilot flying a Boeing aircraft from Spain to England had to take urgent action as its steering broke in mid-air as the plane approached its destination. According to aircraft tracking websites, the plane "leaked hydraulic fluid" and rerouted, before landing safely at Manchester Airport on Friday afternoon. Jet2 flight LS810 took off from Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport at 13:49 local time, and was scheduled to arrive in Manchester just after 15:30. However, after approaching its destination, those piloting the Boeing 757-23N declared a "squawking 7700" emergency. Squawking 7700 is a code issued used to signal an "urgency" or "distress" situation onboard a plane, according to FlightRadar24, and indicates that the crew may be in need of immediate assistance. A Jet2 passenger jet made an emergency call to air traffic control on Friday, after reportedly leaking hydraulic fluid and losing control of its steering. The aircraft is a Boeing 757-23N, and is around 30... On X, aircraft-tracking account @FlightEmergency said that the plane had "lost hydraulic fluid" and was reporting "a loss of steering." The plane can then been seen "entering a hold" to the south-east of Manchester, a maneuver performed by pilots in which the plane flies in a circle to delay its descent toward the runway as it awaits clearance from those on the ground. As can be seen on FlightRadar24, the plane was able to land safely on the runway, where it was met by several emergency vehicles, including firetrucks. According to aircraft database Planespotters.net, the aircraft is 27.7 years old, and was manufactured at Boeing's production facility in Renton, Washington. The plane reportedly leaked hydraulic fluid and lost control of its steering as it approached the airport, where it was met by several emergency crews. Newsweek contacted Manchester Airport, who said that they were aware of a technical issue with the aircraft, but were unable to confirm reports of broken steering or leaking fluid. However, Manchester airport said that the plane landed safely and was being towed back to the terminal, and that it was not aware of any other arrivals or departures being impacted by the incident. Jet2 did not immediately respond to comment when contacted by phone and email. This is one of several similar incidents involving Boeing aircraft this week. On Monday, a United Airlines Boeing 757-200 lost one of its landing gear wheels while taking off from Los Angeles International Airport. Despite this, the plane was able to land on time in Denver International Airport, with no injuries reported. However, the wheel which fell from the plane bounced across the runway and landed on a car in the LAX employee parking lot. Boeing has previously told Newsweek that maintenance of aircraft is the responsibility of airlines and not manufacturers. The company is also battling with wider criticisms of its aircraft production practices and safety culture, which began when the door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 mid-flight in January. Since then, the Federal Aviation Administration has reported hundreds of Boeing employees coming forward with concerns about the safety of its planes. On Sunday, the company also agreed to plead guilty to one count of criminal fraud, having misled federal regulators into approving the 737 MAX, the aircraft involved in the fatal 2018 and 2019 crashes which killed 346. https://www.newsweek.com/boeing-757-emergency-landing-lost-steering-1924564 NTSB REPORT REVEALS DETAILS OF FATAL COVELO PLANE CRASH New information has emerged about the October 2023 airplane crash near Covelo offering insights into the tragic event. According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Beechcraft A36, was destroyed in the crash, resulting in the deaths of pilot Vaughn Porter, 54, and his girlfriend, Jamie Rust, 51. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Airport Index describes the Round Valley Airport as being in a challenging location, surrounded by high mountains and ridges where mountain flying experience is “strongly recommended”. The pilot took off from Runway 28 and made a left turn, despite the right traffic pattern suggested by the airport index. As described in the NTSB preliminary report, witnesses recounted seeing the airplane lift off near the departure end of runway 28 before beginning a left turn towards the northwest in a nose-high attitude. The aircraft then cleared a group of trees by about 20 feet while maintaining the left turn from approximately 60 feet above ground level. As it turned towards the south, the bank angle increased to about 70 degrees, and the airplane subsequently crashed, then exploded before catching on fire. The NTSB report states that the airplane came to rest on a hillside about 0.4 nautical miles west of the departure end of Runway 28 at a field elevation of around 1,500 feet above ground level. Several 20-foot-tall trees with broken tops and branches marked the first point of impact. A 50-foot-long debris path led from the first point of impact to the main wreckage, which was mostly consumed by fire. Further investigation revealed a significant difference in elevation between the ridgelines encountered depending on the turn direction. Mapping released by the NTSB showed that the ridgeline to the right of the departure end rose approximately 1,800 feet above ground level. In contrast, the ridgeline to the left, which the pilot would have observed while taking off, rose to 4,000 feet above ground level. According to KSLTV5, Porter was a seasoned pilot with over 30 years of flying experience and more than 15 years with JetBlue. He and his girlfriend originally took off from Heber Valley Airport in Utah. The flight was bound for Shelter Cove on the Southern Humboldt Coast but diverted to Round Valley when the coastal destination was fogged in. NTSB has yet to issue its final report which should provide a more comprehensive analysis of the conditions and circumstances that contributed to the crash. https://kymkemp.com/2024/07/14/new-ntsb-report-reveals-details-of-fatal-covelo-plane-crash/ Atlanta airport ranked No. 1 in country for guns caught at checkpoints, TSA says ATLANTA - The world's busiest airport is also the world's worst airport for firearms. New data from the Transportation Security Administration shows that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport led the country with the highest number of firearms discovered at security checkpoints for 2024 so far. According to the data, TSA agents have found 222 guns at the Atlanta airport security checkpoints. That's 89% of all the guns detected in Georgia's airports this year and nearly 6.8% of all firearms discovered nationwide. The number of guns is slightly higher than the same time period in 2023 - which saw 214 firearms. However, the number of passengers passing through the Atlanta airport has jumped by more than 1.5 million since the year before. "Nationwide, a firearm was detected for every 135,560 passengers screened. In Georgia, the rate was more than twice the national with one firearm discovered for every 65,828 passengers screened," a report from the TSA reads. TSA agents have screened more than 443 million travelers and found 3,269 firearms this year. That's 19 a day on average. "The safety and security of each person who passes through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is our first and most important priority," a spokesman for the airport said. "Our Atlanta-based TSA officers are vigilant in detecting weapons or other contraband that could compromise that safety. These numbers underscore the robust due diligence the TSA and Atlanta Police engage in daily to keep our airport safe." Firearms can be transported on commercial airplanes, but they need to be unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case, and put in a checked bag. Travelers also need to go to the airline ticket counter and declare any firearms, ammunition, or firearm parts. Replica firearms also need to be transported in checked luggage. https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/atlanta-airport-ranked-guns-tsa-security-checkpoints Russia to begin domestic production of ersatz spare parts for Boeing and Airbus aircraft Russia’s plan to produce aircraft spare parts domestically could have significant implications for global aviation safety, experts warn. Russia has announced plans to start manufacturing replacement parts for Boeing and Airbus aircraft domestically, a move that contravenes international regulations and could pose safety risks, reports Izvestia, a Russian newspaper. According to The Politico, the state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom and the national carrier Aeroflot will collaborate to produce various components, including lighting systems and fire-fighting equipment. This development comes in the wake of sanctions imposed on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which have cut off the country’s aviation sector from legitimate spare parts. The urgency of the situation was underscored by a recent incident involving a Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger plane, which crashed near Moscow, resulting in the deaths of all three crew members. While designed in Russia, the Superjet relies heavily on Western components, and Russia has been struggling to replace sanctioned parts. In response to EU and US sanctions, Russia has taken drastic measures, including appropriating around 400 leased Western aircraft. Andrew Charlton, managing director of Aviation Advocacy consultancy, warns of the potential consequences of using domestically produced parts: “With or without the sanctions, a Russian aircraft with domestically produced, but non-approved or supervised by Boeing or Airbus parts, would not be allowed to operate in Europe.” Despite these challenges, Moscow appears determined to proceed with its plan. Izvestia reports that Rosatom has already manufactured 50 locks for luggage and cargo compartments for Aeroflot’s entire Airbus A320/321s fleet equipped with a container loading system. The lack of access to Western parts and technicians creates growing problems for Russian aviation. S7 Airlines, the country’s largest private carrier, reportedly had to ground dozens of planes last week due to technical issues. While Rosaviatsiya, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, claims a decrease in aircraft incidents in 2023, independent media sources such as the Moscow Times and Novaya Gazeta Europe report contradictory information. Using locally-made spare parts could have far-reaching implications as Russian airlines continue to operate domestically and fly to destinations in Türkiye, the Gulf, and many Asian countries. “Russian aircraft continue to fly to many parts of the world. They fly to busy airports and in crowded airspace. Any aircraft flying around with counterfeit parts poses a risk, so there are grounds for concern,” Charlton warns. https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/07/15/russia-to-begin-domestic-production-of-ersatz-spare-parts-for-boeing-and-airbus-aircraft/ BOEING RECEIVES ORDER FOR 35 737 MAX AIRCRAFT DALLAS – Boeing has received an order for 35 737 MAX aircraft, including the largest model of the single-aisle series from Tokyo Century Corp.'s US aircraft leasing division, Aviation Capital Group. The leasing company said in a statement on Friday that it will purchase 16 Boeing 737-8 aircraft and 19 of the still uncertified 737-10 in anticipation of increased air travel demand. The leasing company expects deliveries by 2031. Last month, the lesser delivered one Boeing 737-8 on long-term lease to WestJet (WS). The value of the transaction was not disclosed by Aviation Capital, which is the owner and manager of 364 aircraft. The company has outstanding orders worth about 1.3 trillion yen (US$8.2 billion) due to an earlier transaction with Airbus SE for nearly 60 single-aisle planes that are still pending delivery in addition to a few additional aircraft. This 737 MAX deal comes as Boeing realigns its priorities with its purchase of Spirit AeroSystems, a move that seems to signal the manufacturer's move to run its production like "the great engineering firm" it was instead of running it like a business, as Boeing ex-CEO Harry Stonecipher famously said was his intention back in 2000. Boeing's cash cow 737 MAX single-aisle jet production is constrained because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) won't let the company increase its narrow-body aircraft output beyond a monthly pace of 38 aircraft until it is satisfied that quality controls are in place and the supply chain can keep up. https://www.airwaysmag.com/new-post/boeing-order-35-737-max-aircraft What IT can learn from aviation safety Blay Whitby FBCS explores how air crashes are investigated and discusses how lessons from that industry might be applicable when IT and AI projects experience disastrous outcomes. Whenever an airliner crashes, a thorough investigation takes place. This investigation aims not to apportion any blame or responsibility, but rather to learn so that similar crashes can be prevented in future. The aviation industry has been doing this for more than 75 years — or more than three quarters of the entire history of aviation. Over the decades, it has made commercial aviation very, very safe. Many other industries — and IT in particular — could learn a lot from this. It might not always look so obvious, but we have known – or should have known – that bad practice in IT causes suffering and death in the same way as bad practice in aviation for some time. I remember the London Ambulance Service introducing an IT system in 1992 that failed completely and caused 30 or more deaths. A long time has elapsed during which the process of learning from our IT mistakes could have been set in motion so as not to repeat them. As yet, it has not. The importance of open investigations How can I be so definite about that? Well, accidents involving commercial airliners are thoroughly investigated, and the detailed technical conclusions of every investigation are also openly published in English for all the world to see. The reasons for that are obvious: a secret accident is likely to happen again. If one is truly concerned about preventing similar accidents, then completely open publication is the best way forward. I know of no comparable publication database for IT mishaps. Indeed, the level of secrecy common in the IT industry means that one often has to rely on journalistic speculation and whistleblowers to get any technical information about IT disasters. Rarely do we see print outs of defective code or a detailed technical account of how code that might usually be satisfactory has failed under circumstances that led to a disaster. If we are to learn from our mistakes, we need far more openness. Ensuring that large software systems are open source would help with this, and that is something that BCS could encourage. Readers may be keen to point out important differences between the two industries. For example, one can’t see the code that caused a problem because software is the intellectual property of the companies that sell it, and therefore subject to commercial confidentiality. But commercial aviation is also competitive. Airlines compete for passengers, and aircraft manufacturers compete to sell their products, yet they accept that their staff, business practices, and products may need to be analysed to find the cause of an accident and then openly published. It’s also vital that aviation investigation conclusions cannot be used as the basis for prosecution. This means that people talk freely to investigators, knowing they are not getting themselves into trouble — and that might be another important lesson. Making the software of IT systems open source would be much easier with this approach. The lessons to be learned from air crash investigation are far broader and more useful than simply the importance of conducting matters on a no blame basis. It turns out that some organisational structures and, indeed, some national cultures are far more prone to accidents than others. Other transportation sectors and, to some extent, medicine have deliberately imitated aviation investigation. Humans in the loop Of course, disasters aren’t caused only by defective code any more than they are caused only by defective aircraft. While there remain humans ‘in the loop’ on the flight deck, their role in accidents is often the most important part of most air accident investigations. A crucial observation here is that air accident investigation no longer uses the term ‘pilot error’. So why do I still hear it so often in the IT world? Of course, pilots still make errors but if we are to prevent it happening again, we need to know why they made this particular error. Great strides have been made in finding out why pilots make errors and in building systems to prevent them recurring. It would be a great relief to think that the IT industry had made similar strides in tracing the human factors behind errors, but this isn’t the case. The most glaring contrast is that of fatigue. Fatigue has been detected as a frequent major contributor to human mistakes on the flight deck. Not only are there strict legal rules ensuring adequate rest between flights, but pilots are also taught to recognise their personal symptoms of fatigue and ground themselves as unfit if they may be suffering. Another interesting finding is that light-hearted banter or an excess of jokes heard on the cockpit voice recorder is typical of an over-tired flight crew. How different is this from IT practice, where long hours (and banter) are usual as deadlines approach, sometimes culminating in ‘the crunch’ — pizza is ordered in, the music turned up loud, and employees are expected to work all night? If one intended to produce defective software, this is probably one of the best methods to achieve it. The impact of AI Recent developments in AI add extreme urgency to the need to institute proper investigative practices. AI induced disasters are an order of magnitude more complex to investigate than previous IT disasters; no longer can we look at the code and see the logical errors. However, investigating AI errors is going to be a necessity. We can now see clearly that sometimes deep learning and generative transformer systems can and do get things very wrong. Already, the ‘inscrutable AI excuse’ is being served to customers in the financial services industry. That is to say that, for example, if you ask why your bank turned you down for a loan, you are told not only that ‘computer says no’ but that because it is AI, it is technically impossible to say why it ‘said no’v. EU Law is currently being enacted that will make this sort of behaviour illegal. The UK may or may not follow, but no one could say that this has ever been an ethical way to treat customers. Difficult is not impossible Deep learning technologies are indeed very difficult to analyse or predict. We have to consider trillions of state transitions – which may be untraceable. ‘Very difficult’ is not the same as impossible, however, and, in this context, we should be cynical about those who claim that it is impossible. Maybe they have something to hide. To return to the aviation analogy, there are also massive natural neural nets — human brains — in the system to be investigated. Investigators will ask what information they had at the time, how were they trained to respond to that information, and how did they respond. These are good ways to tap into the astronomical number of possible configurations of a natural neural net, and they will work equally well with an artificial one. It’s not my intention here to define ways to investigate AI induced disasters. This is a highly specialised technical task that should be done by technical experts — not lawyers, journalists, or politicians. Investigators will learn most of how to do it by actually doing it. My claim is that no blame, freely published technical investigation of IT disasters is long overdue as standard practice in the industry. https://www.bcs.org/articles-opinion-and-research/what-it-can-learn-from-aviation-safety/ As Boeing bleeds cash, Airbus predicts it'll double the size of its fleet worldwide in the next 20 years Airbus forecasts that it'll be able to double the size of its global fleet to 48,230 planes by 2043. The demand comes from strong growth in Asia and the Middle East, per Airbus. The optimistic outlook stands in stark contrast to Boeing's losses, which have been in the billions. As its competitor Boeing bleeds millions of dollars in the face of legal issues, Airbus has reported a much more optimistic future outlook. The aircraft manufacturer revised its 20-year demand outlook in an annual global market forecast, saying it expects to more than double its global fleet size in the next two decades. The current size is 24,260, per Airbus documents seen by Business Insider. Airbus forecasts that this number will rise to 48,230 by 2043, with 42,430 new deliveries expected until then. "We see particularly strong growth in Asia and the Middle East, led particularly by India and China," Bob Lange, head of market analysis and forecasts at Airbus, told Reuters. To be sure, Airbus' positive outlook for the future might be a bright spot in the aviation industry. Companies like Boeing, for instance, have been bleeding cash. In its first-quarter earnings report, Boeing reported that it burned through $3.9 billion in cash. Boeing also posted a net loss of $355 million in that quarter. Boeing has also agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and will cough up $243.6 million to resolve a US Justice Department investigation into two 737 Max fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. The department said Boeing violated a 2021 deferred-prosecution agreement, which stipulated that Boeing had to pay $2.5 billion — mostly to the victims' families — and agree to strengthen its safety and compliance program. The two crashes, which involved its Max 8 models, killed a combined 346 people. A representative for Airbus did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours. https://www.yahoo.com/news/boeing-bleeds-cash-airbus-predicts-095856490.html Boeing starts 777-9 certification flight trials with the FAA Boeing has started 777-9 certification flight trials with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The first of such tests took place on July 12, 2024, shortly after the manufacturer received the Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) from the FAA to conduct these flights. The Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) is issued by the FAA after completing the examination of technical data and it is a necessary requirement for Boeing to start the 777-9 certification process, the last step in this aircraft type’s protracted development process. The start of the certification process was first reported by aerospace news site The Air Current and later confirmed by Boeing, which posted footage of this flight on its Linkedin page showing the test aircraft taking off from its Paine Field facility near Seattle, Washington. Although the 777-9 first flight test took place in early 2020, the program has been subject to repeated delays and it seems unlikely that the aircraft will enter service anytime before Q1 2025. Some of Boeing’s major customers have been quite vocal in expressing their displeasure with this situation. One of them, Emirates, is preparing for the possibility that the aircraft’s first deliveries are delayed up to 2026 and has even asked Boeing to pay part of the cost of keeping their existing B777 fleets up to date. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/boeing-starts-777-9-certification-flight-trials-with-the-faa Things a flight attendant says they would never do For some airline passengers, flying can be a daunting and stressful journey. For others, it's a welcome experience to see the world from hundreds of feet high. CTVNews.ca spoke with a Canadian flight attendant to find out what he wouldn't advise passengers to do before and during flights. Don't go barefoot Sean Price, a part-time flight attendant, says many people like to remove their shoes and socks once they're in the airplane, commonly in the washroom. Price is also the academic program manager for the Flight Services program at Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto. "Generally speaking, any substances you come in contact with in that lavatory are probably undesirable, and we tend to see those same feet reappear in the cabin sometimes on arm rests, sometimes on table trays," Price, who has been a flight attendant for a major airline in Canada for 19 years, said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca. "So we would not recommend wearing bare feet in the lavatory specifically because there's lots of opportunity for cross contamination there." Flight attendants will generally tidy up the washroom during a flight, but they don't fully clean it until the aircraft lands, he noted. For long-haul flights, the plane would be deep-cleaned at the destination. Short-haul flights will generally be quick clean-ups, he added. "You can imagine flights to maybe Vancouver to Sydney can take 16 hours," Price said. "There's lots of opportunity for substances to build up in that lavatory and then on your foot." Don't change babies at your seat Another common practice to avoid is changing babies' diapers on the surface of seats. Instead, use the washroom and use the bags to dispose of soiled material. "We have lots of baby change tables on the aircraft," Price said. "We can assist you in any way possible. ... but we would prefer that you go to the lavatory where there is a change table that's safer for (the) baby and cleaner for anyone else who's using that seat." Don't use devices without headphones Many people use their personal devices on flights to watch movies and shows and entertain themselves. The problem is when they don't use headphones. "You can imagine that on a red-eye flight when ... you're trying to gain some sleep," he said. "If you've got 30 people watching a TV show at full volume in the cabin, it can get quite chaotic (and) disruptive." Passengers should always use a headset or headphones, even if they're just receiving text messages or notifications, he said. "Those consistent notification tones can be really, really distracting in the cabin," he said. Don't leave trash behind If you have garbage, flight attendants would appreciate it if you give it to them during the flight. "We do see a lot, after the flights deplaned, a lot of rows or seats that are pretty heavy with garbage or trash or other items," Price said. Flight attendants check for any refuse throughout the flight and do a quick cleanup after passengers exit to ensure there are no delays for the next flight. "We try to make sure that the aircraft is as clean as possible before landing because not only flight attendants but airline personnel are under immense pressure to turn that aircraft around super quickly when it gets to destination," Price said. The amount of time airplanes are on the ground is very short, he pointed out. "Which means the cleaner the aircraft is, the quicker we can clean it on the ground, the quicker we can get you off to the next destination." Don't be impatient Price reminds passengers that airplanes have limits. "We're in a metal tube in the sky flying at enormous speeds around the world and that environment gives us quite a bit of limitation," Price said. Some aircraft may not have an entertainment system, or passengers may not be able to buy food during the flight, for instance. "Sometimes even turbulence may prevent us from doing a full service," Price said. "And in these circumstances, really, we're just looking for patience because flight attendants are doing the best they can in the environments in which they work and with the limitations that they have." Don't be unprepared With these limitations in mind, Price recommends travellers bring non-liquid snacks and an empty water bottle. Water bottles full of water aren't permitted, but most airports have refillable water systems, he notes. "So make sure you fill up that water bottle on the plane just in case if turbulence is so severe that we're not able to come out and give you a beverage," Price said. "If you bring snacks on board, it's just better preparing you so that if we aren't able to come around or maybe the airline doesn't offer the service you were expecting or maybe the flight isn't long enough to offer you a snack, at least you've got some backup in your bag." Flight attendants deal with all sorts of challenges during flights. Consider checking carry-on bags Although baggage fees are high, in some cases, passengers can check in their bags for free at the gate or during boarding should the airline run out of overhead bin space. Check your bag if you are offered the chance because smaller aircraft may have smaller bins for carry-on luggage, Price said. "So bringing on a carry-on bag does seem to be the more economical solution. That being said, just remember that different aircraft are different sizes and this isn't a one size fits all scenario," he explained. Passengers on long-haul flights may find their carry-on bags fit in the overhead bin, but once they're on connecting aircraft, the bags may be too big. "There tends to be a little bit of tension in the cabin when this happens," Price said. "If it doesn't fit in the bin, trust your flight attendant, they know what fits and they know what doesn't. And they are masters at Tetris. I'm telling you, they will know how to get the bag in. If they can't, listen to them and they will give you options, like checking your bag." Use a smaller carry-on bag, he recommends. "You choosing the largest carry on you can find often is more of a headache than it's worth," he said. "A smaller carry-on that's able to fit in more bins is going to be far better for you than a larger carry on that might not fit.” Follow the CTV News channel on WhatsApp Don't pay last minute Price says it's more expensive to book a checked bag at the airport than purchasing it earlier. "If you're gonna do a checked bag, oftentimes booking your ticket and booking the checked bag at the same time is cheaper," he said. Purchasing tickets earlier is cheaper as well, he adds. Don't forget your sweater Cabin temperatures may not suit various people, so it's better to dress in layers, Price said. Not all airlines offer blankets, he adds. Emergency scenarios could happen even if you're travelling to warmer destinations. "If we were to land in Toronto and we had an emergency and we had to evacuate the aircraft, you're going to evacuate the aircraft wearing flip flops and shorts and a tank top and it's negative 25 in Toronto," he said. Like leg room? Avoid emergency exits Seats near the emergency exit have lots of leg room but usually don't recline, Price said. "Remember that oftentimes an emergency exit seat won't recline because we can't have a seat that reclines into an emergency exit because it could prevent someone from evacuating," he explained. Don't remove your seatbelt unless necessary With the rise of incidents with turbulence, it's safer to keep your seatbelt on at all times, unless you're going to the washroom, Price said. "Our pilots are really, really good at planning routes that avoid turbulence, but sometimes there's turbulence that's unexpected," he said. "Always wear your seatbelt, you can loosen it up .... "Limit the time that you're walking around the cabin when you don't have a seatbelt because it isn't safe." https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/things-a-flight-attendant-says-they-would-never-do-1.6962059 CALENDAR OF EVENTS • Airborne Public Safety Association, Inc. (APSCON 2024) - July 29 - August 3; Houston TX • 2024 FAA Drone and AAM Symposium, July 30-August 1 | Baltimore, MD • 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 • DEFENCE AVIATION SAFETY 2024 - 2 OCTOBER - 3 OCTOBER 2024 - LONDON • 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