Flight Safety Information - October 8, 2024 No. 200 In This Issue : Incident: TUI B738 at Thessaloniki on Oct 7th 2024, could not retract gear : Incident: Malta Air B738 at Manchester on Oct 7th 2024, bird strike on landing : Wyvern Launches Podcast Focused on Aviation Safety : SpiceJet fleet expands with introduction of 10 aircraft by end of November 2024 : Kentucky university partnering with major airline for pilot pathway program : NetJets Received Its 50th New Aircraft Of The Year : American Pilots Union Boss Ousted Amid Election Interference Claims : Hypersonic jet that can reach speeds of 3,600mph to take test flight in 2025 : Calendar of Events Incident: TUI B738 at Thessaloniki on Oct 7th 2024, could not retract gear A TUI Airways Boeing 737-800, registration G-TAWD performing flight BY-4193 from Thessaloniki (Greece) to London Gatwick,EN (UK), was climbing out of Thessaloniki's runway 28 when the crew stopped the climb at 5000 feet due to being unable to fully retract the landing gear. The aircraft entered a hold while working the checklists and returned to Thessaloniki for a safe landing on runway 34 about 30 minutes after departure. A passenger reported the crew announced they were returning due to being unable to retract the landing gear and later indicated a faulty microswitch was identified prior to second departure. The aircraft was able to depart again about 90 minutes after landing back and reached London with a delay of about 2.5 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=51ea92ce&opt=0 Incident: Malta Air B738 at Manchester on Oct 7th 2024, bird strike on landing A Malta Air Boeing 737-800, registration 9H-QDS performing flight FR-2241 from Bologna (Italy) to Manchester,EN (UK), landed on Manchester's runway 23R but struck a number of geese. The aircraft rolled out without further incident and taxied to the apron. The runway needed to be closed for about 30 minutes for cleaning. The aircraft was unable to continue service and is currently still on the ground in Manchester about 7 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=51ea8d8f&opt=0 Wyvern Launches Podcast Focused on Aviation Safety 'Wyvern Airways' features expertise from Wyvern team members and industry professionals Wyvern podcast Marcela White, co-owner of Tavaero Jet Charter Corp; Kris Stewart, senior manager of safety support at Wyvern; and Trent Corcia, Wyvern's v-p of operations support Wyvern—an aviation safety and risk management company that provides auditing, consulting, and safety intelligence services—has launched its new podcast series, Wyvern Airways. This series is designed to enhance aviation safety awareness and knowledge, drawing on the expertise of Wyvern team members and industry professionals. The podcast aims to foster discussions on safety and offer insights for aviation operators, safety professionals, and industry stakeholders. Hosted by Trent Corcia, Wyvern's v-p of operations support and a former U.S. Air Force C-130 navigator, the series kicked off with guest Marcela White, co-owner of Tavaero Jet Charter. White, who has more than 35 years of industry experience, discussed key topics such as implementing a safety management system (SMS), building a strong safety culture, and gaining SMS buy-in from upper management. White's extensive background as a licensed pilot and safety panelist provided perspective on the challenges and benefits of aviation safety management. Kris Stewart, senior manager of safety support at Wyvern, is co-hosting the podcast with Corcia. Wyvern CEO Sonnie Bates commented, "This podcast series is one more way that we are demonstrating our commitment to adding value to our current and prospective customers. When thousands of us collectively increase our focus on safety, everyone wins.” The podcast is targeted at various aviation professionals, including charter jet operators, corporate flight departments, MROs, and others involved in aviation safety. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2024-10-04/wyvern-launches-podcast-focused-aviation-safety SpiceJet fleet expands with introduction of 10 aircraft by end of November 2024 The Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet has confirmed that its commercial fleet is due to expand with the introduction of 10 aircraft by the end of November 2024. In a statement on October 8, 2024, SpiceJet announced that seven of the aircraft have been acquired through lease agreements and three are being reintroduced after they were previously pulled from service. The seven leased aircraft have already been signed for and will join the SpiceJet fleet by November 15, 2024, while the three inactive Boeing 737s will return before the end of November. The airline said that two of the leased aircraft have already arrived in India and will be introduced shortly. “This addition is crucial as we continue to meet the growing demand for air travel while strengthening our operational capabilities. With the capital raised, SpiceJet is well‐positioned to offer improved services and an expanded route network,” said Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet. In September 2024, SpiceJet announced it had raised Rs 3,000 crore (around $360 million) through its Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP). The airline is also due to receive an additional Rs 736 crore ($87.6 million) thanks to a previous funding strategy. News of the 10 aircraft entering service saw SpiceJet’s share price jump on October 8, 2024, in a positive sign for the airline. According to ch-aviation.com, SpiceJet’s current fleet of 17 aircraft consists of two Boeing 737-700s, nine 737-800s, five DHC-8-Q400s and a single 737-900. Despite a recent settlement being reached with Engine Lease Finance Corporation (ELFC) to resolve a $16.7 million dispute, the carrier still has other claims yet to be resolved, including those by Aircastle and Alterna Aircraft. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/spicejet-fleet-aircraft-lease Kentucky university partnering with major airline for pilot pathway program RICHMOND, Ky. (WKYT) - A Kentucky university is partnering with a major airline for a pilot pathway program. Eastern Kentucky University’s aviation program and Allegiant Air are taking off together on a new venture that will allow EKU aviation students an exclusive fast track into the airline industry. It is called Allegiant Air’s Accelerate Pilot Pathway program. EKU aviation students entering their senior year have a chance to be hired as a cadet and provided a conditional job offer as an Allegiant First Officer. This accelerated program will help the airline industry because an estimated 4,000 pilots will not be in the cockpit next year due to retirement, according to the Air Line Pilots Association. “Through that mentorship and constant touch points, we decided we can take pilots straight out of school with a thousand hours and put them in an Airbus or Boeing straight to a major airline,” Allegiant Air Pilot Pathway Manager Robert Butler. “We can skip the regionals. I can tell you we had great success with this; we’ve had 40 people go through so far.” In the video above, WKYT’s Darnell Crenshaw spoke with an EKU aviation student. She says she’s excited about this fast-track program and says more women are entering the aviation field. In the past three years, the aviation program has seen a 140% increase in enrollment. https://www.wkyt.com/2024/10/08/kentucky-university-partnering-with-major-airline-pilot-pathway-program/ NetJets Received Its 50th New Aircraft Of The Year On Friday, October 4th, NetJets announced that it had received the delivery of its 50th new private jet in 2024. In a post on LinkedIn, the largest charter flight and fractional ownership operator revealed that its newest aircraft was a Cessna Citation Latitude, meaning that it has now received fifty brand-new business jets throughout the year. This super-midsize business jet extends its fleet operations, as well as deliveries of other aircraft that encompass the large company's extensive charter and fractional ownership operations. Fifty new private jets The newest NetJets private jet delivered was a Cessna Citation Latitude, a super-midsize business jet that is produced by Textron Aviation, the parent company of Cessna Aircraft Company. This brings the total number of aircraft that NetJets has accepted delivery of in 2024 to fifty private jets. These fifty private jets have a total value of approximately $1.3 billion, which signals the significant growth in its fleet that NetJets is overseeing. The President of NetJets, Pat Gallagher, also spoke about the significant fleet growth NetJets is experiencing. According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, Gallagher stated, "The finest fleet keeps getting better! Proud to welcome our 50th brand-new aircraft of the year, pushing the value of NetJets’ 2024 deliveries to ~ $1.3b and counting. With each new addition, we’re increasing Owner access to top-of-the-line Jets and widening our ‘moat.’ Only NetJets!" About the existing NetJets fleet As previously mentioned, the 50th private jet received by NetJets was a Cessna Citation Latitude. This is the company's 226th super-midsize jet that is produced by Textron Aviation, which is the largest type of aircraft that NetJets operates. It has received three Cessna Citation Latitudes over the past month to bring the number of active Citation Latitudes to 226. The company also operates several other Cessna Citation aircraft. This includes two other super-midsize offerings, the Cessna Citation Sovereign, which was last produced in 2021, and the Citation Longitude. NetJets operates 32 of the Citation Sovereign and 68 of the Citation Longitude. NetJets also operates 70 Cessna Citation XLS variants, a midsize business jet. The charter company is a future operator of the newest Citation XLS variant, the Citation Ascend, after the company announced an order of up to 1,500 private jets over the next 15 years. This deal was valued at up to $30 billion. NetJets Wants To Buy Up To 1,500 Cessna Citation Private Jets The deal provides for 100 aircraft per year over the next 15 years and makes NetJets the launch customer for the upcoming Cessna Citation Ascend. The smallest aircraft that NetJets operates is a light business jet from Embraer, the Phenom 300. NetJets owns and operates 144 total Phenom 300s. Beyond this, NetJets is the largest operator of Bombardier ultra-long-range aircraft, as it operates 76 total Global jets. This includes the following aircraft: 26 Bombardier Global 5000 series 35 Bombardier Global 6000s 15 Bombardier Global 7500s NetJets operates several other Bombardier business jets, including over 50 Bombardier Challenger 650s and 88 total Bombardier Challenger 350s. Finally, NetJets operates 12 total Dassault Aviation Falcon 2000EXs. https://simpleflying.com/netjets-fleet-50th-aircraft-2024/ American Pilots Union Boss Ousted Amid Election Interference Claims The union’s board overwhelmingly voted to recall its president. Allied Pilots Association (APA) president Captain Ed Sicher was recalled on Monday following a 15-5 vote by the union’s board of directors. The labor group represents approximately 15,000 American Airlines pilots. Sicher’s removal follows election interference claims, according to Aero Crew News on Linkedin. He has held the office since 2022. Reports indicate that Sicher allegedly attempted to block certain local candidates who support a merger between the APA and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) from being elected. There are also claims that he threatened disciplinary action against various supporters of the merger being brought to a membership vote. Other allegations include threats to publish the names of both voters and non-voters in local APA elections. Last year, the APA’s board rejected a proposal that would have initiated the potential merger with ALPA. A group called AA Pilots for ALPA conducted a survey in 2022 which resulted in approximately 67% of the 53% American pilots who voted saying they strongly or mostly favored exploring a merger with the larger union. ALPA represents over 78,000 pilots worldwide, including at Delta and United. At the time of writing, Sicher’s bio was removed from the union’s website when comparing WayBackMachine snapshots. The APA did not immediately respond to AirlineGeeks’ request for comment. https://airlinegeeks.com/2024/10/07/american-pilots-union-boss-ousted-amid-election-interference-claims/ Hypersonic jet that can reach speeds of 3,600mph to take test flight in 2025 It is over 20 years since Concorde’s last flight, and since then the idea of supersonic flight has mostly been grounded. Many countries have blocked planes from travelling at such high speed due to the disturbance from noisy sonic booms when they break the sound barrier, and the technology is expensive with tickets historically out of reach for all but the richest. But now interest is again taking off in super speedy planes, and this time they could be more than twice as fast as Concorde. Last week, startup engineering company Venus Aerospace unveiled an engine it says is capable of super high speed ‘hypersonic’ flight. This means reaching speeds over five times the speed of sound, so basically an even more powerful version of supersonic, which Concorde was. The Venus Detonation Ramjet 2000 lb Thrust Engine, also known as ‘VDR2’, can reportedly reach speeds of Mach 6, which is six times the speed of sound. This would be 3,600 miles per hour, making it possible to travel the distance from London to New York (3,400 miles) in just one hour. Venus Aerospace say they are planning a test flight next year along with aerospace company Velontra, with the intention of ‘unlocking the high-speed flight economy’ for both commercial and defence aircraft. The plane will fly higher than traditional aircraft, taking off using traditional jet engines but then transitioning to rockets once it reaches altitude. While not technically on the edge of space, it will fly high enough to see the planet’s curve and the blackness of space above it. Unveiling the new engine at the Up.Summit, Venus Aerospace co-founder Andrew Duggleby said: ‘This engine makes the hypersonic economy a reality. We are excited to partner with Velontra to achieve this revolution in high speed flight, given their expertise in high-speed air combustion.’ Eric Briggs, Velontra’s Chief Operating Officer, said: ‘We can’t wait to dig in, make the first one fly, and ultimately perfect an engine concept that has lived mostly in textbooks but never as a production unit in the air. ‘We couldn’t think of a better partner than Venus. Rocketry pioneers in their own right, and ready to tackle the hard problems, we are eager to fly the same path with them.’ These are not the only companies eager to pioneer the technology. Sierra Space and Hermeus are among those also working on the technology, while Chinese company Space Transportation is also reported to be developing a ‘rocket with wings’ for both space tourism and intercity travel. If such planes became available for commercial flights, they would be very different to the big planes we’re used to in the EasyJet era. They would be much smaller, without windows, and have been designed to reduce the noise from sonic booms to more of a sonic thump, though would likely still have to take routes above the ocean to reduce noise disruption over land. https://metro.co.uk/2024/10/07/hypersonic-jet-can-reach-speeds-3-600mph-take-test-flight-2025-21744504/ CALENDAR OF EVENTS • 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) • INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SAFETY SUMMIT - November 5 - 7, 2024 (Rio De Janeiro) • NATA’s Aviation Business Conference (ABC) - November 12-13,2024, Nashville, TN • Sponsor the 2025 Fuzion Safety Conference! March 4 & 5, 2025 (Orlando) • Sixth Edition of International Accident Investigation Forum, 21 to 23 May 2025, Singapore Curt Lewis