Flight Safety Information - August 9, 2024 No. 159 In This Issue : Incident: SAS E195 near Stuttgart on Aug 7th 2024, instrument problem : Incident: American B772 near New York on Aug 7th 2024, overflowing lavatory : Incident: Delta A339 near Boston on Aug 7th 2024, fumes in cabin : Accident: Southwest B737 enroute on Aug 7th 2024, turbulence injures passenger : Incident: British Airways A388 at London on Aug 6th 2024, rejected takeoff : Parts Removal Problems Well-Known Within Boeing Before Alaska 737-9 Accident : Carolina Panthers were on plane that ran off taxiway at CLT airport : 4 American Airlines Flight Attendants Injured After Airbus A321 Hit Turbulence : Vietjet to receive 10 new aircraft by the end of the year : Airbus Celebrates 500th Jet Produced in Alabama : NASA inspector general gives damning assessment of Boeing's quality control : Study Ranks Air Safety Records, And There's Some Good News! : Aviation Charters achieves FAA Safety Certification : Dr. Susan E. Northrup Named As Recipient Of 69th Annual Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award : Calendar of Events Incident: SAS E195 near Stuttgart on Aug 7th 2024, instrument problem A SAS Scandinavian Airlines Embraer ERJ-195, registration SE-RSK performing flight SK-1683 from Copenhagen (Denmark) to Milan Malpensa (Italy), was enroute at FL370 about 25nm southwest of Stuttgart (Germany) when the crew decided to divert to Stuttgart reporting a problem with one of their instruments on board. The aircraft landed safely on Stuttgart's runway 07 about 45 minutes later. The airport reported the reason for the diversion was a defective instrument in the cockpit. A replacement Canadair CRJ-900 registration EI-FPI reached Milan with a delay of about 7:20 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for about 5.5 hours, then positioned back to Copenhagen and resumed service. https://avherald.com/h?article=51c283d7&opt=0 Incident: American B772 near New York on Aug 7th 2024, overflowing lavatory An American Airlines Boeing 777-200, registration N751AN performing flight AA-36 from Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA) to Madrid,SP (Spain), was enroute at FL370 near Rome,NY (USA) about 170nm northnorthwest of New York,NY (USA) when the crew decided to divert to New York JFK due to an overflowing lavatory. The aircraft landed safely on JFK's runway 04L about one hour after the decision to divert. The remainder of the flight as well as the return flight AA-37 were cancelled. The aircraft is still on the ground in New York about 17 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=51c27e42&opt=0 Incident: Delta A339 near Boston on Aug 7th 2024, fumes in cabin A Delta Airlines Airbus A330-900, registration N401DZ performing flight DL-224 from Boston,MA (USA) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France), was climbing out of Boston when the crew stopped the climb at FL290 reporting fumes in the cabin. The aircraft subsequently returned to Boston for a safe landing on runway 04R about 85 minutes after departure. The rotation was cancelled. The aircraft is still on the ground in Boston about 18 hours after landing back. The FAA reported: "Delta Air Lines Flight 224 returned to and landed safety at Boston Logan International Airport around 9:05 p.m. local time on Wednesday, August 7, after the crew reported possible fumes in the cabin. The Airbus A330 was headed to Paris. The FAA will investigate." https://avherald.com/h?article=51c27cbb&opt=0 Accident: Southwest B737 enroute on Aug 7th 2024, turbulence injures passenger A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration N226WN performing flight WN-3633 from Manchester,NH to Baltimore,MD (USA), was enroute at FL260 when the aircraft encountered turbulence causing serious injuries to a passenger. The aircraft continued to Baltimore for a safe landing about one hour after departure from Manchester. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE INJURYING A PASSENGER, BALTIMORE, MD.", rated the injury serious and the occurrence an accident. https://avherald.com/h?article=51c27b38&opt=0 Incident: British Airways A388 at London on Aug 6th 2024, rejected takeoff A British Airways Airbus A380-800, registration G-XLEC performing flight BA-269 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Los Angeles,CA (USA), was accelerating for takeoff from Heathrow's runway 27R when the crew rejected takeoff at low speed (about 77 KIAS). The aircraft slowed safely and returned to the apron. The rotation was cancelled. The aircraft is still on the ground at Heathrow about 50 hours after tje rejected takeoff. A passenger reported they were told about a technical failure. The passenger believed the problem was electrical in nature. Another passenger remarked some time later that finally there was electricity again. https://avherald.com/h?article=51c2658c&opt=0 Parts Removal Problems Well-Known Within Boeing Before Alaska 737-9 Accident Boeing was concerned enough about compliance with parts-removal requirements to have the issue under a formal safety risk assessment when an Alaska Airlines 737-9 lost a panel that was improperly removed during production, testimony during an NTSB hearing on the January accident revealed. Employees raised concerns about Boeing’s “Perform Part or Assembly Removal” process in March 2023 via the company’s voluntary Speak Up reporting program, Boeing safety management system (SMS) senior director Paul Wright said Aug. 7, the hearing’s second day. The company’s SMS process determined the issue required a safety risk assessment (SRA). The SRA was in process when the Alaska 737-9 lost its left side mid-exit door (MED) plug on Jan. 5, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing. Nobody onboard was hurt, but the accident chain’s circumstances are prompting significant changes at Boeing and with FAA’s surveillance. NTSB investigators have determined that four retaining bolts removed from the MED as part of a pre-delivery repair were not re-installed. The aircraft passed a number of pre-delivery inspections and flew 154 flights before the plug blew out—in part because unlike other doors, the MED plug is not designed to rely on a sensor that triggers if it is not fully secure. Removal of the plug to repair five adjacent rivets required formal documentation in Boeing’s Common Manufacturing Execution System (CMES). None was prepared, Boeing determined. Spirit conducted the rivet repairs, but Boeing’s protocol required its employees to both prepare the removal documentation, known as Boeing Process Instruction (BPI) 1581, and handle the door. It is not clear why the retaining bolts were not re-installed, where the hardware ended up, or who was last to touch the MED plug after the work was finished and the aircraft delivered to Alaska in October 2023. Boeing’s recognition that a more urgent risk review process may have prevented the mistakes that led to the Alaska accident have prompted the company to change protocols. “Having that full analysis done for the initial risk is too long,” said Wright. “So, we’ve changed our process ... The initial risk has to be placed within seven days” once the issue is added to the formal “risk register,” he continued. “We have a dedicated team overseen by myself, that does those initial placements.” Information gathered by the NTSB shows both Boeing and the FAA were acutely aware of production-line problems with unauthorized removals well before the Alaska accident happened. Eight internal audits from 2018-2023 “found issues with unauthorized removals,” an NTSB report prepared during the investigation shows. Concerns among production-floor workforce have prompted 35 removal-related Speak Up reports since 2019. Ten are still open. Employees who submitted speak-ups “were concerned about how to make sure teammates had all the necessary information for the reinstallation,” said Wright. “Particularly to make sure that tests were conducted properly,” he added. Problems with removals were linked to 16 “regulatory compliance issues” from 2018-2023, the NTSB report said. Boeing voluntarily disclosed nine of these and seven were “compliance actions” cited by the FAA, signifying unintentional mistakes that the company agreed to correct. None led to enforcement actions. Eight of the issues were 737-related, but none involved MED plugs. “We did identify this issue,” said Brian Knaup, an FAA manager with direct Boeing certificate oversight responsibility. “We worked through our compliance actions and tried to ensure Boeing implemented corrective actions around this issue—the reinstallation of parts and ensuring that the [installation plans] were adequate. “The removal process ... is a very complex process,” he added. “We did attack that process.” An FAA audit conducted after the Alaska accident found still more removal-related issues that may lead to FAA penalties. “We have open enforcement actions currently,” Knaup said. ”It is an open investigation.” Boeing has determined that frequent updates of BPI 1581 are not being adequately communicated to employees. The company made 11 “notable” updates to BPI 1581 from 2013-2023 prompted by a variety of sources, including internal audit findings and “commitments to the FAA,” the NTSB document said. Boeing said it plans to make less frequent updates to BPI 1581 and has instituted training that covers when and why removal documentation is required. Its CMES has been updated to prevent employees from conducting removals unless they have undergone the training. More planned improvements are included in a 90-day corrective action plan Boeing submitted to the FAA following the most recent audit. https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/safety-ops-regulation/parts-removal-problems-well-known-within-boeing-alaska-737-9 Carolina Panthers were on plane that ran off taxiway at CLT airport CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Sources confirmed that Carolina Panthers players and coaches were on the Delta airplane that ran off the taxiway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport early Friday morning. The plane landed on the runway closest to the Billy Graham Parkway, near the Sullenberger Aviation Museum, around 2:40 a.m. After it landed, a plethora of emergency vehicles met the plane, and around 3:45 a.m., stairs were towed to the taxiway. Passengers got off shortly after. Delta said landing gear on the right side of the airplane exited the taxiway after a normal landing. No injuries were reported. The airline said 188 customers were onboard and were bused to the terminal once they got off the plane. All passengers were taken off the plane before crews got the plane back on the taxiway and moved it away. to from Charlotte fire crews relaying information that they were Sources: Carolina Panthers were on Delta plane that ran off taxiway at CLT airport The Panthers were returning from New England after losing to the Patriots, 17-3, on Thursday night in their preseason opener. Delta confirmed that the flight number was 8860. FlightAware records show the flight was coming from Providence, R.I., and that the plane is a Boeing 767-300. FlightAware data showed that as of 7 a.m., 30 flights had been delayed and six others canceled at Charlotte Douglas. It is unclear if the Delta landing contributed to any delays, as Post Tropical Cyclone Debby makes its way out of the Carolinas Friday morning. https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/sources-carolina-panthers-were-on-delta-plane-that-ran-off-taxiway-at-clt-airport/ar-AA1ovizu 4 American Airlines Flight Attendants Injured After Airbus A321 Hit Turbulence Summary • Unexpected turbulence injured 4 crew members on American Airlines Flight 2905, but all passengers were unharmed. • Clear air turbulence can't be detected by weather radar, making it difficult to avoid. • Airlines are implementing strategies to reduce turbulence-related injuries, as incidents seem to be increasing due to climate change. American Airlines Flight 2905 on June 8th was eventful but for the wrong reasons. Unexpected turbulence injured four cabin crew members, but no other injuries were reported. Clear air turbulence American Airlines Flight 2905 is a nonstop flight using an Airbus A321 twinjet from Tampa International Airport (TPA) to Charlotte Douglas International (CLT). According to local news outlet WBTV, the jet experienced unexpected turbulence along the aircraft's 547-mile flight path, resulting in all four crew members sustaining injuries. The severity of the injuries is unknown at this point. However, after the aircraft landed safely at its destination airport, the crewmembers were transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. Simple Flying has contacted American Airlines for a comment on the crewmembers' condition. There were 154 passengers and six crew onboard, and no other injuries were reported. The two remaining crew members are assumed to be the flight crew, who are always strapped in while at their station. American Airlines released the following statement: "American Airlines flight 2905 with service from Tampa (TPA) to Charlotte (CLT) landed safely at CLT after encountering unexpected turbulence. We thank our crew members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding." The turbulence likely was clear air turbulence that weather radar cannot detect. CAT can only be avoided if other aircraft report it. Debby causing delays According to FlightAware's Misery Map, CLT featured some of the highest flight delay and cancellation rates in the US on Thursday due to Tropical Storm Debby. More than 715 flights were delayed, and at least 22 were canceled. CLT was directly within the storm's path and had the country's worst cancellation and delay numbers. Other airports in the East Coast cities, such as New York, Miami, and Washington D.C., also faced delays. Increase in turbulence-related injuries There has been a marked increase in turbulence-related injuries in recent times, such as the Air Europa Flight 45, Qatar Airways Flight 17, and Singapore Airlines Flight 321 - which resulted in the death of a passenger. American Airlines Airbus A321 at Boston Logan International Airport. Photo: The Global Guy | Shutterstock According to one study, clear air turbulence has increased over the past 40 years, with severe turbulence increasing by approximately 55% in the North Atlantic. In addition, moderate turbulence increased by 37%, and light turbulence by 17%. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that turbulence was the main cause of injuries to flight attendants and passengers. The scientific community agrees that climate change and global warming are exacerbating turbulence, that passengers should expect air travel to become more bumpy, and that they should get used to seeing headlines about turbulence more often. However, many airlines are implementing policies to reduce the risk of injury. Korean Air changed its cabin service procedures, ending service 40 minutes before landing, and has stopped serving instant ramen - a crowd favorite. Emirates became the first airline to integrate the IATA Turbulence Aware Platform with Lufthansa Systems' Lido Pilot to help better predict and avoid turbulence. The system allows aircraft to automatically share turbulence information with others on the same platform, creating a network of information to help pilots identify areas of turbulence. https://simpleflying.com/4-american-airlines-flight-attendants-injured-turbulence/ Vietjet to receive 10 new aircraft by the end of the year Boosting its fleet, Vietjet is expected to take the delivery of 10 new aircraft, mostly the A321neo ACF The news of the delivery follows a decided expansion for domestic and international routes by Vietjet, with new destinations in Australia, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, and Cambodia, amongst others. The airline currently operates a fleet of over 100 aircraft, including the A320, A321neo, A321neo ACF and the A330. Equally, the airline has placed a firm order with Airbus for 20 new-generation wide-body A330neo (A330-900) aircraft, valued at $7.4 billion. Vietjet was the first carrier to operate the ACF aircraft, with specs such as improved cabin design for optimised seating and space, reduced noise by up to 75 per cent, fuel savings of at least 16 per cent, and lowered emissions by 50 per cent. The expansion pairs with positive financial results for the first half of 2024, with a consolidated revenue of VND34.016 trillion (US$1.35 billion), representing an increase of 15 per cent year-over-year. Vietjet has served 13.1 million passengers during this half of the year, and operated 70,154 flights. https://www.laranews.net/vietjet-to-receive-10-new-aircraft-by-the-end-of-the-year/ Airbus Celebrates 500th Jet Produced in Alabama DALLAS — Airbus marked a significant milestone yesterday at its U.S. Manufacturing Facility in Mobile, Alabama, with the completion of its 500th aircraft. The aircraft, an A321neo, was produced for Delta Air Lines (DL). Airbus executives and employees gathered to celebrate this "stellar milestone," as described in the company's announcement. The newly-manufactured A321neo represents a testament to the dedication of the Airbus team in Mobile. This achievement highlights the facility's growing importance in Airbus's global production network since its establishment. The Mobile facility, which focuses on assembling aircraft from the popular A320 family, has become a crucial part of Airbus's strategy to strengthen its presence in the North American market. The production of 500 aircraft showcases the European manufacturer's contribution to the local and national aerospace industry. Ramped Up Production It was two years ago that production ramped up in Mobile. At the time, Airbus looked to start an aggressive growth plan at its assembly facility there. According to a report on al.com, the plane manufacturer said that it would add a third assembly line at its Brookley Aeroplex on the shore of Mobile Bay. It then assembled A320s and A220s at the facility. The third line would provide additional capacity for A320s. The company said that "Mobile will play a key role in Airbus’ plans to significantly increase global production rates in coming years." In its Q2 2022 earnings report, Airbus noted that it was staying with and even accelerating A320 production that was slowed by the pandemic. The manufacturer set a goal of producing 65 A320s per month by mid-2023, and work with suppliers to ramp that up to 75 per month by 2025. These numbers stood in stark contrast to the production of Boeing 737s which in 2022 remained at just over 30 planes per month. “Airbus will meet the higher production rates by increasing capacity at its existing industrial sites and growing the industrial footprint in Mobile, AL while investing to ensure that all commercial aircraft assembly sites are A321-capable,” said the earnings report. Richard Aboulafia, an analyst for the consultant AeroDynamic Advisory, said at the time, “The market for single-aisle jets is extremely strong, and the A321neo is doing particularly well.” Airbus’ objective is to gain 70% of that market, leaving only 30% for Boeing, “And they just might get there.” In 2024, Airbus leads the single-aisle aircraft market with a significant advantage over Boeing. According to Alton Aviation Consultancy, Airbus holds an 80% market share in sales of large single-aisle planes, compared to Boeing's 20% share. This indicates a 60 percentage point difference in market share between the two companies. Over the next 20 years, Airbus forecast a demand for more than 42,000 new deliveries, of which 33,500 will be single-isle aircraft. https://www.airwaysmag.com/new-post/airbus-500th-jet-produced-in-alabama NASA inspector general gives damning assessment of Boeing's quality control Ongoing issues with Boeing’s Starliner spaceship have been front and center this summer, but a new government report highlights other shortcomings of the company's aerospace work. The report, released Thursday by NASA’s Office of Inspector General, calls into question Boeing’s standards and quality control for its part in NASA’s efforts to return astronauts to the moon. In NASA's development of its next-generation megarocket, known as the Space Launch System, it gave Boeing the contract to build the rocket system’s powerful upper stage. But according to the report, Boeing’s quality control systems fall short of NASA’s requirements, and some known deficiencies have gone unaddressed. What's more, the workers on the project are not, as a whole, sufficiently experienced or well trained, according to the inspector general. The report brings additional scrutiny to Boeing, which is already dealing with problems plaguing the first crewed flight of its Starliner capsule. That mission was meant to be the final step before Boeing could begin routine flights to the International Space Station for NASA. But a helium leak and issues with the Starliner’s thrusters have left the two NASA astronauts who flew the capsule into space stuck in orbit for more than two months. The journey had been meant to last just eight days. Meanwhile, Boeing's aviation arm continues to deal with fallout after a door panel blew out on one of its 737 Max airplanes in January. Now, the report from NASA's inspector general has found that the second stage of the Space Launch System — the part Boeing is responsible for — is significantly over budget. It blew through an original estimate of $962 million in 2017, and the projected price tag for the work through 2025 is now $2.8 billion. The project is also years behind schedule: Boeing pushed back delivery of the rocket stage from February 2021 to April 2027. As for Boeing's quality control practices, the NASA inspector general said that from 2021 to 2023, federal oversight officers issued 71 “Corrective Action Requests” to address “deficiencies in quality.” Many of the requests took aim at Boeing’s work at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. “Quality control issues at Michoud are largely due to the lack of a sufficient number of trained and experienced aerospace workers at Boeing,” the report said. Many of the identified deficiencies ultimately did not get fixed, the report added. “Boeing’s process to address deficiencies to date has been ineffective, and the company has generally been nonresponsive in taking corrective actions when the same quality control issues reoccur,” it said. In response to a request for comment, a Boeing representative directed NBC News back to NASA. Catherine Koerner, the associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters, said in a written response attached to the report that the agency holds its programs to the “highest technical and programmatic standard.” “NASA is dedicated to ensuring that its workforce and associated contractors are qualified and properly trained to ensure the safety of its missions,” Koerner wrote. The report included several recommendations, including levying “financial penalties for Boeing’s noncompliance with quality control standards.” The inspector general said, however, that NASA decided not to introduce any kind of financial discipline. The 322-foot-tall Space Launch System and its accompanying Orion spacecraft are designed to launch astronauts to the moon. The eventual goal is to build a base on the lunar surface. NASA completed an uncrewed test flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule in 2022, a mission dubbed Artemis I. It is expected to launch four astronauts on the system’s first crewed flight around the moon (the Artemis II mission) next year. In addition to the first-generation SLS rocket, NASA is also developing a more powerful model that can haul more cargo to the moon. Boeing is the prime contractor for the upper stage of that upgraded version, known as the Space Launch System Block 1B. It began the work in 2014. The initial plan called for the upgraded rocket system to be used to send the Artemis II astronauts around the moon, but the timeline has been pushed back — changes that led to delays in the development schedule and increased costs, according to the inspector general. The new report said the SLS Block 1B version is likely to cost $5.7 billion by the time it launches. The assessment is the latest setback for NASA's return-to-the-moon program, which has been beset by holdups and budget overruns. NASA has spent more than $42 billion over more than a decade on its Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. Last year, NASA’s inspector general estimated that each Artemis launch would cost $4.2 billion. https://www.yahoo.com/news/nasa-inspector-general-gives-damning-000617366.html Study Ranks Air Safety Records, And There's Some Good News! Flying can be a nerve-wracking experience for many people – but a new study out Thursday finds commercial air travel keeps getting safer, with the risk of death halving every decade. The fatality rate fell to 1 per every 13.7 million passenger boardings globally in the 2018-2022 period, a major improvement from 1 per 7.9 million boardings in 2008-2017, according to a paper by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It's also a far cry from the dawn of commercial air travel: fatalities per passenger were 1 per 350,000 boardings in 1968-1977. "Aviation safety continues to get better," said MIT professor Arnold Barnett, who co-authored the research that appeared in the Journal of Air Transport Management, adding the chance of dying "continues to go down by a factor of two every decade." Barnett compared the trend to 'Moore's Law,' the famous prediction by Intel founder Gordon Moore that the computing power of chips doubles roughly every 18 months. From 1978-1987 the risk of dying was 1 per 750,000 boarding passengers; from 1988-1997 it was 1 per 1.3 million; and in 1998-2007, 1 per 2.7 million. The last major commercial airline disaster in the United States was in 2009, when Colgan Air flight 3407 crashed, killing 50 people. Barnett cautioned however that ongoing progress is not assured. Recent near-collisions on US runways this year have made headlines, while federal investigators have been pressing Boeing on why a door-plug aboard a 737 MAX 9 aircraft came off mid-flight on an Alaskan Airlines plane in January. Headline numbers also obscure vast global disparities in air safety, with the study dividing countries into three tiers based on their safety records. The top tier includes the United States, European Union countries and other European nations including Montenegro, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Australia, Canada, China, Israel, Japan and New Zealand round out this group. Tier two consists of Bahrain, Bosnia, Brazil, Brunei, Chile, Hong Kong – counted distinctly from China – India, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The world's remaining countries fall into tier three. Encouragingly, although the risk of dying is far greater in these countries, their air travel fatalities per boardings were also cut roughly in half during the 2018-2022 period. https://www.sciencealert.com/study-ranks-air-safety-records-and-theres-some-good-news Aviation Charters achieves FAA Safety Certification Aviation Charters, operating from New Jersey’s Trenton Mercer Airport (KTTN), has announced its achievement of 14 CFR Part 5 Safety Management System (SMS) Active Conformance status, the highest certification level of safety management. With the process beginning in March 2019, the company is the first in the greater Philadelphia district to achieve this status, which, although voluntarily sort after, has been mandatory for Part 135 charter operations since March 2024. Aviation Charter had its SMS manual approved in January 2020, followed by Active Conformance in June 2024. “It has taken an immense amount of effort and focus from every single employee across our companies to make this industry-leading achievement possible,” said Paul Weiss, president of the companies. “This certification underscores our unwavering dedication to safety at every level. An active SMS allows us to proactively identify and mitigate risks, ensuring the highest level of safety for our operations. It also signals to our customers that their operations are in the most adept hands when they choose to fly with us.” The achievement represents a milestone for Aviation Charters, but equally for its sister company, FlightServ, an FBO, maintenance and aircraft detailing operation, who also operate from KTTN. https://www.regionalgateway.net/aviation-charters-achieves-faa-safety-certification/ Dr. Susan E. Northrup Named As Recipient Of 69th Annual Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award Alexandria, Va. -- The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation is honored to announce Dr. Susan E. Northrup, MD., MPH, Federal Air Surgeon of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, as the 2024 recipient of the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award. In less than four years as Federal Air Surgeon, Dr. Northrup has made significant contributions to global aviation, overseeing groundbreaking initiatives which significantly impacted pilot health and safety. Dr. Northrup works tirelessly on behalf of pilots diagnosed with mental illness to destigmatize the diagnoses, facilitate early access to treatment and return them to the cockpit safely and expeditiously. She created educational outreach programs designed to foster open communication with aviators while prioritizing the management of chronic disease and mental health issues. Her proactive approach helps keep healthy pilots in the air while ensuring aviation system safety. Dr. Northrup’s contributions to aviation safety extend far beyond her role as Federal Air Surgeon. Her board certifications in aerospace medicine and occupational medicine have enabled her to conduct research and author publications on critical issues, including the impact of sleep aids on pilots, cabin air quality, and bioterrorism. Her research and analysis have helped shape accepted industry standards. A private pilot and retired U.S. Air Force colonel, Dr. Northrup played a central role in the International Civil Aviation Organization's Aviation Recovery Task Force, which developed practical guidance for governments and industry operators during the COVID-19 pandemic. The official presentation of the 69th annual Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award will take place during the upcoming 77th annual Flight Safety Foundation International Air Safety Summit, which takes place November 5-7, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro (https://flightsafety.swoogo.com/IASS2024). About the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation and Award On April 14, 1945, after visiting family in Pittsburgh, Mrs. Laura Taber Barbour was aboard a Pennsylvania Central Airlines DC-3 when it crashed into the rugged terrain of Cheat Mountain near Morgantown, West Virginia. All passengers and crew were killed. In 1956, her husband, Dr. Clifford E. Barbour and son, Cliff, established the Award in her honor. For 68 years, this long-distinguished award has recognized those responsible for crowning achievements in aviation safety worldwide. The Award was established through early association with the Flight Safety Foundation and from its founding has enjoyed a rich history of Award Board members, nominees and Award recipients. In 2013, the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation was formed from members of the Award Committee, the aviation community and the Barbour family. As the foundation plans to broaden the scope of its intent, with great purpose, the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award will continue to spotlight those champions who pioneer breakthroughs in flight safety. For more information on the foundation, the award, and past winners, visit https://ltbaward.org/home/. CALENDAR OF EVENTS • Asia Pacific Summit for Aviation Safety (AP-SAS 2024), Aug. 13-15, Beijing, China. • Stay Informed with NATA’s Regulatory Intel for Certification Success Webinar; August 22nd. Register: https://mynata.my.site.com/nata/s/lt-event?id=a1YRj0000012lrtMAA • 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