Flight Safety Information - July 17, 2024 No. 142 In This Issue : Accident: Delta B764 at Milan on Jul 16th 2024, tail strike on departure : Incident: Indigo A20N near Lucknow on Jul 12th 2024, engine shut down in flight : Incident: Alaska B739 near Boise on Jul 13th 2024, smoke in cockpit : Was Passenger on AA Emergency Flight a Hero or Hindrance? : Damage to hydraulics, tyres and wheels of cargo jet in Hong Kong emergency landing, report finds : Boeing Insists It Is Making Progress On Safety and Program Delays : FAA's Outdated Systems Risk Passenger Safety, Senators Warned : Alaska & Hawaiian Airlines Apply To USDOT For Mutual Route Transfer : Flydubai searches for pilots, cabin crew and engineers to support airline growth : NOAA orders second high-altitude jet for hurricane and climate research : Calendar of Events Accident: Delta B764 at Milan on Jul 16th 2024, tail strike on departure A Delta Airlines Boeing 767-400, registration N835MH performing flight DL-175 from Milan Malpensa (Italy) to Atlanta,GA (USA) with 234 people on board, was departing Malpensa's runway 17R when the tail of the aircraft struck the runway for a prolonged period of time before the aircraft became airborne. After climbing out to safety the aircraft levelled off at 3000 feet and returned to Malpensa for a landing on runway 35R without further incident about 20 minutes after departure. A ground observer reported there was a long trail of smoke behind the departing aircraft still over the runway while the aircraft was already climbing out. According to ADS-B data the aircraft appeared to rotate at about 114 knots over ground and became airborne at about 170 knots over ground. The occurrence has similiarities to the recent LATAM tail strike on departure, see Accident: LATAM Brasil B773 at Milan on Jul 9th 2024, tail strike on departure. The aircraft is still on the ground in Milan about 24 hours later. https://avherald.com/h?article=51b3d11e&opt=0 Incident: Indigo A20N near Lucknow on Jul 12th 2024, engine shut down in flight An Indigo Airbus A320-200N, registration VT-IZI performing flight 6E-5194 from Gorakhpur to Mumbai (India) with 186 passengers and 6 crew, was enroute at FL340 about 110nm south of Lucknow (India) when the crew declared emergency reporting engine (PW1127G) trouble, shut the engine down, descended the aircraft to FL220 and diverted to Lucknow for a safe landing on runway 09 about 45 minutes later. A replacement A320-200N registration VT-ISA reached Mumbai with a delay of about 4.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Lucknow about 98 hours after landing (4 days 2 hours). https://avherald.com/h?article=51b35bb0&opt=0 Incident: Alaska B739 near Boise on Jul 13th 2024, smoke in cockpit An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900, registration N215AK performing flight AS-360 from Seattle,WA to Tampa,FL (USA), was enroute at FL350 about 160nm northeast of Boise,ID (USA) when the crew donned their oxygen masks reporting smoke in the cockpit and decided to divert to Boise. Descending through about 14,000 feet the crew advised the smoke was increasing. The aircraft landed without further incident on runway 10R about 35 minutes after deciding to divert and taxied to the apron. The remainder of the flight and the rotation was cancelled. The aircraft remained on the ground in Boise for about 45 hours, then positioned to Seattle but has not yet returned to service about 84 hours (3 days 12 hours) after landing in Boise. A passenger reported there was a smell like gas in the cabin, the engine power was reduced, the oxygen masks were released and the aircraft descended. Another passenger saw sparks and small flames outside. https://avherald.com/h?article=51b3548f&opt=0 Was Passenger on AA Emergency Flight a Hero or Hindrance? I am confident that Oliver Jankai, one of the passengers evacuating an American Airlines flight to Miami on Friday will probably never forget the weekend he just had. Whether he was a hero, a hindrance or both, is less certain. Watch the videos and decide for yourself. The 50-year-old Austrian and his family were passengers on Flight 2045 scheduled to depart San Francisco at noon on Friday. They were headed to the Copa America soccer final in Miami (about which more later) when fire erupted on the plane, an Airbus A321, which was still parked at the gate. In an interview with a Miami television station, Jankai said the fire started in a bag stored under his seat. He and his son, Jan tried to stomp out the flames but could not. They asked the flight attendant for a fire extinguisher but were told there was none. “Finally my son said ‘Okay, we got to open the door’, because there was a lot of smoke. And she said “No, no, don’t open the door.’ And he still opened the door,” Jankai said. “And then I just shoot it out of the plane. And that’s about it.” Firefighters then retrieved the bag from where Jankai had tossed it and deposited it and its contents into a large container of water. This is the same tactic a flight attendant would use if a battery smoked or ignited on a flight. It won’t stop the burning but slows overheating which can lead to thermal runaway and explosions. Things might have been under control on the ground but the drama was just getting started onboard Flight 2045. As you will see in the videos below, the flight attendant at the back of the plane began herding Jankai and others gathered by the aft door through which the battery was pitched toward the front. She was bellowing evacuation instructions. “Go out! Go out that way! Go forward, go forward! Do not take your bag!” But the aisle appears to have been jammed because no one was making any progress toward the open doors and emergency slides 20 or 30 feet ahead of them. You can see that after 15 seconds, Jankai turns back to the flight attendant in what appears to be an attempt to explain that the fire-generating battery was no longer in the airplane. “It was just this f-ing…Its out. Its out,” he says, adding, “It was a battery, whatever.” In a firm but reasonable tone, the flight attendant responds, “That’s okay, you still have to evacuate.” Jankai and at least another 5 others in the knot of people in front of the flight attendant can be seen fiddling with stuff in their seats and in the overhead bins fueling frustration from those behind. Could they have moved toward the exits if they tried? It does not appear so. But based on comments posted below the interview with Jankai, he was not part of the solution anymore. He was part of the problem. “He didn’t act quickly. He disobeyed the flight attendant’s clear instructions multiple times which could have lead (sic) to disaster,” Rohan Ellis commented. Dalmita Hernandez wrote, “Have (sic) they been fueling the aircraft when he throw (sic) that bag this could have been a disaster and who knows how many lives that would have cost.” I present these tense minutes on Flight 2045 because Jankai’s role creates an interesting ambiguity and challenges the conclusion that selfish/thoughtless/reckless passengers delayed the evacuation. The video doesn’t appear to support that. What is made abundantly clear, however, is that this airplane was not evacuated within the 90-second limit imposed by air safety regulators. It shows that it took nearly 3 minutes for the aisle ahead of those seated in the back of the plane to clear so they could begin moving toward the exits. If the other factors that contributed to the delay aren’t identified and addressed, the next battery to go kaflooey might take passengers with it. American Airlines did not reply to an email seeking clarification. Earlier it reported that a member of the crew had disposed of the smoking laptop. American also failed to respond to questions about whether it would review the circumstances of Flight 2045 to determine if the process could have been handled faster. The hazards of lithium-ion batteries on airplanes are well known. The smoke is toxic and the microscopically small, naturally-occurring dendrites that grow inside cells can trigger internal electrical shorts that generate temperatures between 5,000-10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. To make that impossibly high number even more frightening consider this; on nearly every commercial flight, lithium-ion battery-powered devices outnumber passengers two or three times over. Christine Negroni Author of The New York Times bestseller, The Crash Detectives, I am also a journalist, public speaker and broadcaster specializing in aviation and travel. https://christinenegroni.com/was-passenger-on-aa-emergency-flight-a-hero-or-hindrance/ Damage to hydraulics, tyres and wheels of cargo jet in Hong Kong emergency landing, report finds Air accident investigators say they will look at reasons for tyre and hydraulics failures and examine retained components The cargo jet forced to make an emergency landing in Hong Kong that paralysed a runway for eight hours was later found to have major damage to its hydraulic system, as well as shredded tyres and lost wheel parts, a preliminary incident report has said. The Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) on Tuesday revealed the extent of the damage discovered after the emergency landing of the Atlas Air Boeing 747-400F on June 17. “The investigation team is conducting a detailed analysis of the data and information collected in order to determine the circumstances and causes of this occurrence with a view to preventing a recurrence, in conjunction with identifying areas for further investigation or lines of inquiry to follow up,” an AAIA spokesman said. The authority added it would look at the reasons for the failure of the tyres and hydraulic systems, as well as carry out an in-depth examination of retained components from the plane, with some to be examined at overseas test centres. A post-flight inspection found parts were missing from wheel assemblies, in addition to damage to the tyres. Some damage to the lower part of the forward fuselage, the lower right wing sections and to components inside the wheel well was also found. Broken and punctured hydraulic lines were discovered in the right-hand wing landing gear wheel well. Fluid in three of the hydraulic systems was completely lost. Warren Chim Wing-nin, the deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers’ aircraft division, explained there were four hydraulic systems in 747s, with the main one controlling landing gear retraction and flight steering. “In simple terms, a hydraulic system is a closed circuit where hydraulic fluid is used to transmit pressure through a hydraulic pump,” Chim explained. “This pressure is then utilised to drive various components or systems of the aircraft. “A warning message indicating low hydraulic system fluid level is a signal of hydraulic lines being punctured, causing leakage. The pilot made the right call to return the flight.” He explained that the debris from the burst tyres could have punctured hydraulic lines in the other two systems, which would explain why no fluid was found during the post-incident inspection. The report said that, during takeoff from Hong Kong at 4.09am, the crew members noticed a slight yawing and vibrations, but no indications of problems with flight capabilities were detected from inside the cockpit. The four aircrew and an off-duty staff member on board started the take-off procedure and retracted the landing gear as normal. But a warning message about low levels of hydraulic fluid appeared about 26 minutes after take-off. The pilot, a veteran with 7,483 hours of flying experience, decided to return to Hong Kong after he followed checklist procedures and consulted Atlas Air’s ground control centre. The captain, after discussion with Hong Kong air traffic control, jettisoned about 80 tonnes of fuel to comply with airport landing weight restrictions. He also told air traffic control that because of the hydraulics failure the plane was expected to lose nose wheel steering after it touched down, which meant it would need to be towed off the runway. The aircraft landed at 7.12am on the north runway without any reported steering control loss. The Airport Authority said that of 932 flights operating from 7am to midnight that day, an estimated 450 were delayed because of the incident. Only Hong Kong International Airport’s south runway was operating during the emergency. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3270699/damage-hydraulics-tyres-and-wheels-cargo-jet-hong-kong-emergency-landing-report-finds Boeing Insists It Is Making Progress On Safety and Program Delays As the 737 Max safety saga continues, Boeing's Farnborough show presence is understated Boeing Max line RentonBoeing's 737 Max assembly line in Renton has come under intense scrutiny following safety concerns most recently driven by the January incident involving a door plug that separated from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 while in flight. Boeing has returned to the Farnborough International Airshow with a cross-section mockup of its new 777X cabin, but the aerospace giant’s commercial airliners are notably absent from the static and flying displays this year. At the previous Farnborough show in 2022, Boeing debuted its 737 Max 10—the largest member of the 737 Max family—in the flying demonstrations, along with a flight test example of the 777-9, the larger of the two planned 777X variants. This year, however, Boeing opted not to spend time and resources orchestrating overseas flight demonstrations with its latest airliner models. Rather, the Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) division has turned its attention to a comprehensive safety and quality action plan the FAA ordered the company to devise following several high-profile accidents with its 737 Max family of airliners. After the January 5 incident in which a mid-exit door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9, causing rapid depressurization shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, the FAA launched an investigation into reports of systemic quality-control deficiencies in Boeing’s 737 Max production lines. In February the FAA ordered Boeing to devise an action plan to systematically address the issues, incorporating findings from the agency’s production-line audit and an expert review panel report. Boeing has since begun to overhaul its quality-control processes, not only at the 737 production line in Renton, Washington, but in all of its manufacturing facilities. The plan calls for simplifying processes, investing in more robust training and mentoring programs, and increasing oversight of its suppliers. The company also has asked for feedback from employees and encouraged them to openly report safety and quality concerns. At the Renton factory, the production line now shuts down for an hour every week to allow employees to discuss safety concerns and needs with their supervisors. The meetings allow employees to report any issue ranging from noncompliant manufacturing work to basic needs such as better lighting, Katie Ringgold, v-p and general manager for Boeing’s 737 program and Renton site leader, told reporters last month during a tour of the facility. To better organize the production line, Boeing implemented a new digitized system that tracks parts and tools while automatically documenting any unfinished work at the end of a shift. The company stores the items on a so-called “work in progress” (WIP) rack monitored by an attendant, and each airplane travels down the assembly line with its own designated WIP rack. The new WIP rack ensures that no parts removed from the aircraft get left behind when it moves down the assembly line—a simple mistake that may have contributed to the door plug fallout. ‘Door Plug’ Saga Continues The door plug incident in January marked the latest in a series of problems with 737 Max airliners involving Boeing and its supplier Spirit Aerosystems which assembles the model's fuselages in Wichita, Kansas, before shipping them to Boeing’s Renton factory. The supplier, which Boeing expects to acquire next year, has come under fire in recent years over manufacturing defects and potentially non-compliant parts it supplied to Boeing. Following a “comprehensive and methodical” 20-month review of Boeing’s processes in the aftermath of the twin crashes of 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019, the FAA cleared the Max to fly again in November 2020. At the time, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun promised the company had addressed the resulting safety concerns. “The lessons we have learned as a result have reshaped our company and further focused our attention on our core values of safety, quality, and integrity,” he insisted. Nearly five years later, Boeing echoed those sentiments in response to the door plug fiasco. This time, the situation differs in that the focus has shifted from engineering to manufacturing, argued BCA senior vice president of quality Elizabeth Lund. “When this accident came along, it gave us a chance to look at a different area…This was really the manufacturing side of the house, not the engineering side of the house,” Lund told reporters during a pre-Farnborough media briefing on June 25. Last September, while the aircraft equipped with the suspect door plug underwent production at the Renton factory, Spirit AeroSystems employees had to replace some faulty rivets on the fuselage and Boeing mechanics temporarily removed the door plug to grant access to those rivets. Investigators found that when they subsequently mounted the plug, they failed to install four retaining pins that held it in place. In a perplexing turn of events, Lund said in the briefing that the mechanics who closed the door plug following the repair are not to blame for the missing pins. Rather, Boeing believes that someone failed to file the necessary paperwork when workers opened the plug in the first place. “We believe there was a noncompliance to our processes at that point by having the plug open without the correct documentation and paperwork,” Lund said. “There was documentation and paperwork on the actual rivets. Those got removed and replaced. That was stamped off. That was appropriate.” After mechanics addressed the rivet problem, the airplane was ready to roll outside. “We have a team that we call the move crew,” said Lund. “Before an airplane rolls out of the factory on line-move night, they come in and they just button the airplane up for the weather. We know the move crew closed the plug. They did not reinstall the retaining pins. That is not their job. Their job is to just close it and they count on existing paperwork. “The paperwork goes with the airplane,” she continued. “In this case, because we believe the paperwork was never created, there was no open paperwork that traveled with the airplane...The fact that one employee could not fill out one piece of paperwork in this condition and could result in an accident was shocking to all of us.” NTSB Slams Boeing Lund’s comments prompted a strong rebuke last month from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which leads the investigation into the door plug incident. As a participant in the probe, Boeing may not release any investigative information without the NTSB’s express approval, Tim LeBaron, director of the NTSB's Office of Aviation Safety, explained in a letter to Boeing president and CEO Dave Calhoun. LeBaron alleged that Boeing blatantly violated the terms of its party agreement with the NTSB. “[The company] released non-public investigative information and made unsubstantiated speculations about possible causes of the January 5 door-plug blowout, which is directly at issue in the ongoing investigation,” said LeBaron. Some of the information Lund discussed in the June 25 briefing “was either inaccurate or unknown to the NTSB,” he added. The rebuke marked the second time in one month that the NTSB reprimanded Boeing for publicly discussing an active investigation without permission. On June 18, Boeing chief engineer Howard McKenzie testified in a U.S. Senate hearing that a “Dutch roll” incident in May involving a Southwest Airlines 737 Max 8 had “nothing to do with design or manufacturing.” LeBaron countered that notion. “The NTSB has not made any such determination, and our investigators have not yet ruled out design or manufacturing issues as contributing to this event,” he said. In response to Boeing’s mishandling of the door plug investigation, the NTSB rescinded the company’s access to “investigative information the NTSB produces as it develops the factual record of the accident,” LeBaron said. Furthermore, he noted, the NTSB intends to subpoena company witnesses, including Lund, to appear at an investigative hearing in Washington, D.C. in August, adding that the NTSB had notified the Department of Justice about Boeing’s unauthorized release of investigative information. Certification Programs Face Ongoing Delays While Boeing addresses claims of safety deficiencies and possible criminal charges, the company continues to struggle with delays in the certification programs for the 737 Max 7 and Max 10 models, as well as the 777X. According to Boeing, increased regulatory scrutiny since the Max crashes has contributed to ongoing certification delays. BCA decided not to bring its new airliners to the Farnborough Airshow this year to concentrate on minimizing the program delays. The U.S. aerospace giant also opted to leave its latest commercial jets behind for the Singapore Airshow in February, instead bringing the 777X cross-section to showcase in the exhibit hall. Originally scheduled for certification in 2020, the 777X likely won’t enter service until 2026. The 777-9 test fleet has accumulated more than 3,500 flight hours during 1,200 flight tests as of June 2024, according to Ted Grady, chief test pilot for the 777X program. Grady said the flight test team has “gone through almost all of the Boeing testing we’ll do before we get into certification [testing].” Boeing has suffered a series of setbacks in certifying the Max 7 and Max 10 derivatives since the Max 8 and 9 entered service in 2017. Boeing continues to work on a fix for a faulty anti-icing system and now expects the Max 7 and 10 models to gain certification in the latter half of 2026. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2024-07-17/boeing-insists-it-making-progress-safety-and-program-delays FAA's Outdated Systems Risk Passenger Safety, Senators Warned More than two dozen aerospace associations have called on Congress to increase funding for America's "neglected" aviation facilities, or risk jeopardizing the entire U.S. aviation industry. According to a letter co-signed by 26 organizations, some of the Federal Aviation Administration's facilities are over 50 years old, while many more have fallen into disrepair as a result of overdue maintenance. In 2017, the FAA evaluated its Air Route Traffic Control Centers and determined that only three out of 23 facilities were in "good" condition. Their letter, addressed to several congressional transport committees, warned that further investment and maintenance was needed to ensure American passengers have a "safe, resilient and modernized air traffic control system." The signatories – "representing nearly every sector of our nation's aviation system" – include the Air Traffic Control Association, Airlines for America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "The effects of underinvestment in facilities and equipment are becoming strikingly clear," the letter said. "One consequence is that the necessary maintenance of existing systems is being neglected." Exclusively Available to Subscribers Try it now for $1 It gives the example of the FAA adopting a "fix on fail" approach to its outdated facilities. This nearly resulted in catastrophe in January 2023, when the agency's Notice to Air Missions system, responsible for notifying pilots of potential safety hazards, suffered a complete outage. The shutdown forced the FAA to ground flights across the country for over an hour, the first nationwide call of its kind since 9/11. According to the letter, every ARTCC and over a quarter of all FAA facilities are "at least 50 years old," with many in dire need of replacement, though the agency's budget is currently stretched too thin to support this. Maria Cantwell Senator Maria Cantwell speaks to media during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Cantwell spearheaded the 2024 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, and was one of... More GRAEME SLOAN/SIPA VIA AP IMAGES The letter argues that Congress should make changes to the Airport & Airway Trust Fund, the Treasury Department branch responsible for financing aerospace activities, and allow for the FAA to "more effectively utilize the Trust Fund balance for needed facility upgrades and system modernization." While it acknowledges the "broader budgetary pressures" facing the U.S., the letter argues that the aviation industry plays a significant role in the nation's economy, and that "robust government investment in our aviation system is critical to continued safety and our global competitiveness." Citing the latest congressional budget forecast, it claims that the AATF will have an uncommitted balance of around $5.8 billion by the end of this financial year, and that this will allow for a "stable and predictable source of funding to address the system needs across the national airspace system." The letter praises some recent moves aimed at addressing this "historical underinvestment," including the 2024 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act. The bipartisan bill, overwhelmingly approved by the House and Senate before being signed into law in May, freed up $105 billion in funds for the agency over the next five years, required further investment in airspace workforce development and provided clearer standards for passenger compensation. However, the association's letter said that congress would need to "build upon" this progress, and to ensure that the U.S continues to have "the safest and most robust national airspace system in the world." https://www.newsweek.com/faa-funding-1926263 Alaska & Hawaiian Airlines Apply To USDOT For Mutual Route Transfer Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have jointly filed two critical applications with the U.S. Department of Transportation in anticipation of the transaction completing their planned merger. In one filing, the airlines requested a “de facto transfer of Hawaiian’s international route authorities” to the Alaska Air Group and the re-issuance of each airline’s respective international route authorities in the name of the other. In a concurrent filing, the airlines asked for “an interim exemption” allowing them “to operate under common ownership” pending approval of the mutual transfer of their routes. These approvals would allow each airline to begin planning joint ticketing and operations as part of the same group and ensure a seamless transition for their customers once the merger is approved. As the airlines state in their application, “Following the Transaction closing, Alaska and Hawaiian will be commonly owned and controlled, but will continue to operate separately until their operations can be merged under a single operating certificate. During this transition period, Hawaiian will be a wholly owned subsidiary of AAG.” The U.S. Department of Justice has until August 5th to decide whether to approve the merger, which has faced some opposition. A lawsuit filed in Hawaii’s Federal Court in April of this year claimed Alaska’s plans to buy Hawaiian violated federal law by “substantially” lessening competition, potentially creating a monopoly, and would “also threaten Hawaiʻi’s economy and the well-being of Hawaiʻi’s people.” The attorneys raised concerns that selling Hawaiian Airlines to the Alaska Air Group would lead to “labor layoffs, higher prices, less frequent flights interisland, from Hawaiʻi to the mainland, and from Hawaiʻi to Asia and Pacific.” Forbes Daily: Join over 1 million Forbes Daily subscribers and get our best stories, exclusive reporting and essential analysis of the day’s news in your inbox every weekday. When announcing stockholder approval of the merger, Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Peter Ingram promised that the merger would “bring stronger competition to the U.S. airline industry, deliver more value to our guests and the communities that we serve, and provide greater job opportunities for our employees.” For his part, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a company statement on the merger, “We have a longstanding and deep respect for Hawaiian Airlines, for their role as a top employer in Hawai‘i, and for how their brand and people carry the warm culture of aloha around the globe.” He added that the Alaska Air Group is “fully committed to investing in the communities of Hawai‘i and maintaining robust Neighbor Island service that Hawaiian Airlines travelers have come to expect.” Nothing is certain after the court decision that squashed the JetBlue merger with Spirit Airlines. But this is a different proposition. Neither Alaska Airlines nor Hawaiian Airlines operate as low-cost carriers. The judgment against the JetBlue Spirit merger hinged on the judge’s concern that passengers who rely on low fares would be harmed. Still, Alaska Airlines’ previous history of mergers—specifically, the acquisition and ultimate dissolution of the popular Virgin America brand—is worth considering. As it has done with Hawaiian, Alaska also approached the Virgin merger, celebrating the differences between the two airlines and vowing to retain their unique cultures. “Together, we'll offer more flights, with low fares, more rewards and more for customers to love, as we continue to offer a distinctive travel experience,” said Brad Tilden, CEO of Alaska Air Group, when the Alaska Airlines and Virgin American deal was announced. Ultimately, Alaska decided against its “different works” message and eliminated all traces of Virgin America, including the Airbus fleet. This expensive decision forced former Virgin America pilots to retrain to operate Alaska’s Boeing 737s. However, Alaska still has to pay for the abandoned Virgin brand. Last month, the carrier lost an appeal in a UK court of its $160 million obligation to pay for the Virgin trademark through 2039, whether or not they use it. No similar iron-clad legal provision would protect the Hawaiian Airlines brand icon, Pualani, in the new merger, though Alaska would be very foolish to kill her off. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisagarcia/2024/07/16/alaska--hawaiian-airlines-apply-to-usdot-for-mutual-route-transfer/ Flydubai searches for pilots, cabin crew and engineers to support airline growth Flydubai is in the midst of a recruitment drive to support the low-cost carrier’s growth with pilots, cabin crew and engineers most in need. Flydubai has a fleet of 88 Boeing 737 aircraft, with 13 arriving in 2023 alone and seven more scheduled to arrive before the end of the year. The Emirati government-owned airline also recently expanded its network with new routes to Basel, Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius announced. The airline’s workforce has ballooned to 5,800 professionals from 140 different countries, with 1,200 of them employed as pilots. In an update on July 16, 2024, flydubai said that it is on course to recruit 130 new pilots by the end of this year and has already hired more than 440 new staff members since the start of the year, an increase of 6%. According to its website, a captain at flydubai stans to earn AED 43,325 ($11,795) a month which includes basic salary and housing/transport allowance while a first officer receives AED 31,900 ($8,684) each month. A cabin crew member can expect to earn a basic salary of AED 7,500 ($2,042) which again includes housing and transport allowance. The airline said it is continuing to attract more UAE nationals as part of its commitment to recruit more home-grown talent. Flydubai offers special programs for both UAE national pilots and employees in other departments across the business to support future growth opportunities. At the Dubai Airshow in November 2023, flydubai placed its first-ever widebody order for 30 Boeing 787-9s as part of its growth strategy. For more information on joining flydubai visit the recruitment webpage. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/flydubai-recruiting-jobs-pilots-cabin-crew-engineers NOAA orders second high-altitude jet for hurricane and climate research New aircraft, funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, to join NOAA fleet in 2028 Today, NOAA announced that it is exercising a $106 million contract option with Georgia-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to purchase a fully modified G550 aircraft that will be specially configured to support hurricane and tropical storm forecasts, atmospheric research and other NOAA missions. Funded in part by the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the fully instrumented aircraft is expected to join NOAA's fleet in 2028. This will be NOAA’s second G550. The first, which NOAA ordered from Gulfstream in 2019, is expected to be delivered in spring 2025 and will replace NOAA’s aging Gulfstream IV-SP, which has been an essential part of the NOAA Hurricane Hunter fleet since 1996. “These new state-of-the-art aircraft will greatly enhance NOAA’s ability to gather data critical to hurricane research and forecasting, atmospheric river research and forecasting, climate studies and other missions,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “Infrastructure investments like this protect both lives and livelihoods.” Photo showing the view from NOAA's Gulfstream IV-SP as it flies over an atmospheric river system during a mission on January 9, 2023. (Image credit: NOAA) Both twin-engine aircraft will be equipped with a variety of sensors for collecting atmospheric data, including a tail-mounted Doppler radar system. The G550s, which can fly fast, far and high with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles and a maximum altitude of 51,000 feet, will paint a detailed picture of atmospheric conditions above and around hurricanes and other tropical cyclones — information essential for accurate forecasts. Data collected by the G550s will supplement the critical low-altitude data collected by NOAA’s pair of four-engine Lockheed WP-3D Orion turboprop aircraft, which fly directly into storms. When aircraft data are available, hurricane track and intensity forecasts are improved significantly. Longer lead-time for tropical cyclone forecasts are imperative as coastal populations and infrastructure continue to grow, evacuation decision times increase and climate change raises hurricane intensity, rainfall and storm surges. “The acquisition of these highly capable aircraft is a major step forward in the recapitalization of NOAA’s aircraft fleet, which forecasters, researchers and decision-makers depend on for life-saving information,” said Vice Adm. (select) Nancy Hann, director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations. Together, the G550s will help NOAA meet the requirements of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 by creating additional capability for hurricane reconnaissance. The G550s will be based at the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center in Lakeland, Florida, along with NOAA’s other specialized environmental data-gathering aircraft. The fleet is operated, managed and maintained by a combination of NOAA Corps officers and civilian personnel. https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-orders-second-high-altitude-jet-for-hurricane-and-climate-research 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