Flight Safety Information - October 25, 2024 No. 213 In This Issue : Incident: ANA Wings DH8D near Osaka on Oct 21st 2024, cracked windshield : Incident: Afriqiyah A320 near Tobruk on Oct 22nd 2024, smoke in cabin : Incident: Delta B739 at Sacramento on Oct 24th 2024, engine issues : Incident: American B773 over Pacific on Oct 23rd 2024, loss of cabin pressure : Incident: American A319 at Portland on Oct 23rd 2024, engine fire indication : Global Transport Workers Take Stand Against Single-Pilot Operations : Qantas Adds Safety Academy And More Scholarships To Boost Pilot Diversity : Anchorage International Airport adds 5 new air cargo carriers : Charter Safety Group Adopts Document Management System : Joby Discusses eVTOL Rules with International Aviation Safety Agencies : Starfighters Space hopes to launch small satellites from wings of F-104 supersonic jets : With JetBlue out of the picture, Frontier and Spirit Airlines are once again discussing a merger—two years after their $2.9 billion deal fell through : Email From Boeing to Ethiopian Airlines Sheds Light on a Tragic Crash : Elevate Your Organization's Safety Practices with ERAU’s SMS Course in Daytona Beach Nov. 19-21 : Calendar of Events Incident: ANA Wings DH8D near Osaka on Oct 21st 2024, cracked windshield An ANA Wings de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration JA841A performing flight NH-551 from Osaka Itami to Kagoshima (Japan) with 62 passengers and 4 crew, was enroute at FL210 about 80nm west of Osaka when the crew decided to return to Osaka due a cracked right hand windshield. The aircraft landed safely back about one hour after departure. The flight was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto a flight on Oct 22nd 2024. https://avherald.com/h?article=51f5dbda&opt=0 Incident: Afriqiyah A320 near Tobruk on Oct 22nd 2024, smoke in cabin An Afriqiyah Airbus A320-200, registration 5A-ONO performing flight 8U-436 from Tripoli Mitiga (Libya) to Alexandria (Egypt), was enroute at FL350 about 25nm southeast of Tobruk (Libya) when the crew decided to divert to Tobruk reporting smoke in the cabin. The aircraft landed safely in Tobruk. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 35 hours, then returned to Tripoli but has not yet resumed service about 21 hours after landing in Tripoli. https://avherald.com/h?article=51f5da20&opt=0 Incident: Delta B739 at Sacramento on Oct 24th 2024, engine issues A Delta Airlines Boeing 737-900, registration N818DA performing flight DL-2229 from Sacramento,CA to Minneapolis,MN (USA), was climbing out of Sacramento's runway 35R when the crew stopped the climb at about FL184 reporting problems with one of the engines (CFM56). The aircraft returned to Sacramento for a safe landing on runway 35R about 30 minutes after departure. The FAA reported: "Delta Air Lines Flight 2229 returned safely to Sacramento International Airport in California around 7 a.m. local time on Thursday, October 24, after the crew reported an engine issue. The Boeing 737-900 was headed to Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport." The aircraft is still on the ground in Sacramento about 2 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=51f5c6b8&opt=0 Incident: American B773 over Pacific on Oct 23rd 2024, loss of cabin pressure An American Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration N725AN performing flight AA-73 from Los Angeles,CA (USA) to Sydney,NS (Australia), initially climbed to FL280 and was enroute over the Pacific Ocean about 420nm southwest of Los Angeles, when the crew initiated a descent to 8000 feet due to the loss of cabin pressure. The aircraft returned to Los Angeles for a safe landing on runway 25R about 2:50 hours after departure. The FAA reported: "American Airlines Flight 73 returned safely to Los Angeles International Airport around 1:50 a.m. local time on Thursday, October 24, after the crew reported a possible pressurization issue. The Boeing 777-300 was headed to Sydney, Australia. The FAA will investigate." A replacement flight is currently estimated to depart with a delay of about 14.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Los Angeles about 7 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=51f5c374&opt=0 Incident: American A319 at Portland on Oct 23rd 2024, engine fire indication An American Airlines Airbus A319-100, registration N704US performing flight AA-1087 from Portland,ME to Philadelphia,PA (USA) with 116 people on board, was climbing out of Portland's runway 11 when the crew declared emergency and stopped the climb at 3000 feet reporting a right hand engine (CFM56) fire. The crew secured the engine and returned to Portland. The crew subsequently advised they had an intermittent fire indication for the right hand engine, the engine had been secured, they would stop on the runway for examination by emergency services. The aircraft landed safely on runway 11 about 20 minutes after departure and stopped on the runway. A replacement flight is currently estimated to depart with a delay of about 33.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Portland about 21 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=51f5bfbc&opt=0 Global Transport Workers Take Stand Against Single-Pilot Operations Global Transportation workers opposed single-pilot operations in commercial airlines stressing an emphasis on safety. This week, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) took a stand against single pilot operations in commercial airlines. ITF, which represents transport workers worldwide, joined the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) and several other organizations in voicing its opposition for any efforts to diminish the existing crew complement requirements. The organization pledged to utilize all available resources to advocate against safety regulators approving such measures. “Some aircraft manufacturers are designing airliners to be flown with only one pilot on the flight deck during the cruise portion of the flight, and eventually with zero pilots,” said Capt. Jason Ambrosi, ALPA president. “This profit-over-safety scheme is actually being supported by some aviation safety regulators and airlines, contrary to the highest standard of aviation safety. Global transportation workers are standing in solidarity against this effort to undermine workers’ rights and safe skies.” ITF’s push for two pilots in the flight deck comes on the heels of an ITF survey in which a majority of the public is strongly opposed to single-pilot and fully autonomous airline operations. ITF’s survey indicated that 76 percent of respondents expressed discomfort flying on a plane without a pilot on board. “ITF’s survey confirms the public understands that airline travel today is the safest means of transportation, and they aren’t willing to jeopardize lives just to maybe save a buck,” said Ambrosi. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/global-transport-workers-take-stand-against-single-pilot-operations/ Qantas Adds Safety Academy And More Scholarships To Boost Pilot Diversity Australia's Qantas Group has more than 100 new aircraft on order and needs to recruit and train 8,500 new operational staff over the next decade to operate and maintain them. Today, the airline group announced it will invest more than AU$40 million ($27 million) in a range of training and safety programs to meet that need. Training the next generation of aviation talent Last year, the Qantas Group, which includes Qantas and Jetstar, announced it would create 8,500 new Australia-based operational positions over the next ten years. All of the positions are vital to the group's expansion, with the need for 4,500 cabin crew, 1,600 pilots, 800 engineers and 1,600 filling other roles, including at airports. In its announcement today, Qantas has identified three initiatives that it will focus on as it builds the pipeline of new talent it needs to operate, crew and maintain new aircraft, including the Airbus A350-1000s that will fly nonstop from east coast Australia to New York and London on Project Sunrise missions. The three initiatives are establishing the Qantas Group Safety Academy, a new Sydney Ground Training Facility and adding more diversity by investing in the airline's pipeline of new pilots. The new programs build on the airline's extensive commitment to training, including the Qantas Group Pilot Academy, the Engineering Academy opening next year and existing flight training centers around the country. Qantas Agrees To AU$60 Million Pay Rise For Flight Attendants Under its new CEO, Vanessa Hudson, Qantas has moved quickly to agree on a new deal with its domestic and international cabin crews. Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said safety and training have been part of Qantas' DNA since its first flight in 1922. Its staff have long been renowned for their high safety and training standards, which are the foundation of the investment Qantas is making in the future of Australian aviation and other industries. "Our multi-million dollar training investment means there will be new facilities and state-of-the-art equipment across Australia to train our current pilots and cabin crew, as well as the thousands of crew expected to join the Qantas Group over the next decade." These are the three focus areas for Qantas In a nutshell, the three initiatives include; • A new Qantas Group Safety Academy set to launch in 2025 • AU$40 million ($27m) investment in cabin safety training assets and new facilities across Australia • Doubling the number of Pilot Academy scholarships for female and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in 2025 The new Qantas Group Safety Academy Qantas is partnering with Griffith University and RMIT University to establish an Australian-first safety academy. The academy will offer safety education credentials designed to upskill safety professionals and develop safety leaders across all industries. The academy is set to launch next year with safety-related micro-credentials across areas including safety culture, risk management, data management, cyber safety and human safety factors, including fatigue and sleep management. In 2026, it is planned to offer accredited post-graduate qualifications before delivering advanced research programs. New Ground Training Facility And Equipment Opening in mid-2026, the new Sydney Ground Training Facility will be a dedicated site for emergency procedures training for more than 5,000 Qantas, Jetstar and QantasLink pilots and cabin crew each year. It will house new and existing training equipment, including door trainers, virtual reality training spaces, a new narrowbody cabin trainer and additional classrooms. A new dedicated ground training facility will also be opened in Perth from mid-2025. The significant investment will see new emergency procedure training equipment installed in existing training facilities in Brisbane to support QantasLink A220 and Qantas A321XLR growth and in Melbourne to support Jetstar, Qantas, Qantas Freight and QantasLink training. Bringing more diversity to the Qantas pilot cohort In 2025, the Qantas Group will also double the number of scholarships to 20 for female students and Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders to attend the pilot academy in Toowoomba (Queensland). On that subject, Hudson said: "As we train the next generation of pilots, we want to make sure that we're reaching a broader and more diverse talent base, which is why we're expanding our scholarship program for the Qantas Group Pilot Academy." The scholarships, valued at up to AU$30,000 ($20,000), cover accommodation and food costs at the pilot academy, with tuition fees added. Since the academy opened in 2020, more than 400 students have graduated to join the Qantas group and the broader aviation industry, with women representing 20% of graduates. Qantas and Jetstar team operating IWD all-female flights According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), women comprise approximately 4% of pilots in service. The Qantas group said that more than 7% of its pilots are female, but this latest move aims to decrease that gender imbalance by encouraging more female cadets. https://simpleflying.com/qantas-safety-academy-pilot-scholarships-boost-diversity/ Anchorage International Airport adds 5 new air cargo carriers Anchorage airport officials hope the addition of five new cargo air carriers will help expand the airport’s cargo capacity. Due to its place on the globe, especially its closeness to Asia markets, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport has been a major leader in cargo shipping for years. It has ranked as high as number three in the world as far as total tonnes of cargo going through. “Memphis, the home of FedEx, is the only airport in the United States with more cargo traffic than here at Ted Stevens,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said at a press conference Thursday. “Now, with the addition of five new cargo carriers, we will be even more competitive.” The five new cargo carriers are Awesome Cargo Airlines, Central Airlines of China, ASL Air Cargo, Aerologic Air Cargo and CMA CGM Air Cargo. Dunleavy said the expansion will make air cargo shipping to Mexico more accessible, as well as routes through Asia and Africa. Deputy airport director Teri Lindseth said the airport recently slipped to fourth place, behind Shanghai, but the new expansion should provide a boost. “With these new cargo carriers, you know, bumping up those numbers, we are hoping to get back to number three here very soon,” Lindseth said. Lindseth said the addition of the new carriers will bring an annual revenue increase of about $9 million to the airport, about a 7% bump. Additionally, she highlighted a series of expansions at the airport, including the much-touted Northlink Aviation expansion at the south terminal. “They’ll be continuing construction this upcoming summer, developing several hard stands for wide body parking, a modern warehousing facility, as well as infrastructure to recover and recycle glycol, which is used for de-icing aircraft here at ANC,” Lindseth said. She also noted an expansion of the airport’s FedEx hub and the Signature Aviation corporate aircraft terminal. She said another entity, Alaska Cargo and Cold Storage, anticipates beginning construction at the airport next summer. https://alaskapublic.org/2024/10/24/anchorage-international-airport-adds-5-new-air-cargo-carriers/ Charter Safety Group Adopts Document Management System Air Charter Safety Foundation wants to encourage members to digitize documents Web Manuals document management platform Web Manuals makes it easier for aircraft operators to digitize, author, update, and share critical operational documents. The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) is working with document management specialist Web Manuals to encourage the business and general aviation industries to digitize critical operational safety information. Under a partnership announced on Tuesday, Web Manuals has become an associate member of the nonprofit organization and will allow ACSF to use its software platform to distribute audit standards, forms, manuals, and other documentation. Web Manuals has agreed to make ACSF's standards available to all customers as part of its compliance library. The foundation started its work in 2008 to provide safety leadership for charter and fractional ownership flight providers, and it is now expanding its work to the emerging advanced air mobility sector. "We are excited to be working alongside Web Manuals' chief commercial officer Krister Genmark and the Web Manuals team to further champion safety within our membership through their digital documentation expertise," said ACSF's executive director, Debi Carpenter. "This collaboration enables us to manage our audit standards much more effectively." Discounts Available for New Subscribers At the NBAA-BACE show this week, Web Manuals is offering a 25% discount on the first year’s subscription to its system and free implementation. The special deal is available to attendees who sign up for the service during the show or within 30 days of the event. The Sweden-based group is about to release the latest update to its software and is conducting live demonstrations at its NBAA-BACE exhibit (Booth 4341). The cloud-based platform helps business aircraft operators to digitize, author, and distribute important manuals in a way that makes it more efficient for them to stay compliant with regulatory requirements and support safe operations. This year, Web Manuals has introduced its Amelia AI platform, which uses artificial intelligence to improve the search function for flight crew manuals. The system is intended to make it easier for users to ask questions and quickly access the exact information they need to support informed decisions that can save time and money. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2024-10-24/charter-safety-group-adopts-document-management-system Joby Discusses eVTOL Rules with International Aviation Safety Agencies Officials from the UK, Japan, and Australia are being hosted at the company's California HQ this week Joby Aviation is hosting aviation regulators from three major countries as part of its efforts to secure international type certification for its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. At its California headquarters the company welcomed officials this week from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, and Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority. All three of these agencies have bilateral aviation safety agreements with the FAA and during the event U.S. officials have engaged with their international counterparts. Joby described the meetings as “technology familiarization” and said that discussions between its team members and the overseas regulators would contribute to harmonization of certification and regulation of new electric air taxis that are expected to operate worldwide. Joby has applied to have its pending FAA type certificate validated in the UK, Japan, and Australia. The meetings were held as the FAA issued its long-awaited special federal aviation regulation for “Integration of Powered Lift: Pilot Certification and Operations.” This document established key aspects of how eVTOL aircraft will be permitted to operate, including factors such as pilot training and energy reserve requirements governing range. As of August 2024, Joby said it had completed more than one-third of the fourth of five stages in the FAA type certification process. The company has been aiming to complete type certification in time to start series production, deliveries, and early commercial operations in 2025. Joby is also engaging with EASA in Europe, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority. In a recent interview with AIN, the company said that Dubai is likely to be the location for its first air taxi service in late 2025, with markets including New York and Los Angeles also identified as like early adopters of advanced air mobility. “By hosting regulators from key markets around the world, we have the opportunity to share the industry-leading work we continue to do with the FAA,” said Didier Papadopoulos, Joby’s president of aircraft OEM. “From the UK to Japan and Australia, Joby is working with forward-leaning nations to ensure alignment on safety and certification efforts that will enable the deployment of quiet, emissions-free aircraft in cities and communities around the world soon after we complete certification here in the U.S.” https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-10-24/joby-discusses-evtol-rules-international-aviation-safety Starfighters Space hopes to launch small satellites from wings of F-104 supersonic jets Forget the launch pad: A Space Coast company wants to accelerate its rare supersonic aircraft to twice the speed of sound, climb up to 45,000 feet, and fire wing-mounted rockets up into low-Earth orbit, deploying small payloads of pint-sized satellites. Straight out of science fiction? Starfighters Space, a small company that flies seven vintage Lockheed F-104 Starfighter jet interceptors at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, is testing the cost-saving concept now. "We could actually launch these nanosats in orbit. The aircraft's capable of speeds in excess of Mach 2 — twice the speed of sound," said pilot Rick "Comrade" Svetkoff, founder and CEO. "Right now, the military doesn't have any aircraft to expend because they're all tied up. The military's using every piece of hardware that it has, not to mention the cost factor in trying to get these fighters for any length of time. Whereas, we have aircraft to do this on a regular basis," Svetkoff said. Starfighters Space operates the world's only commercial fleet of F-104 supersonic jet aircraft. With a small crew of 10 employees based at KSC, the company offers a unique package of services, ranging from futuristic research-development projects to flight training for pilots and astronauts. Since 2009, the company has leased a portion of Space Florida's Reusable Launch Vehicle Hangar alongside the former space shuttle landing strip. The F-104s take flight and land on this 15,000-foot restricted-airspace runway — one of the world's longest. So do incoming astronauts aboard business jets from NASA's Johnson Space Center, including the recent SpaceX Polaris Dawn and NASA Crew-9 crews. Svetkoff said his Starfighters can serve a niche for small businesses in the fast-growing nanosatellite market by launching cheaper and faster than traditional space companies. NASA defines nanosats as weighing up to 10 kg, or 22 pounds. Airborne constellations of nanosats can be used for imaging, telecommunications, remote sensing and a host of other functions. Svetkoff hopes to debut his first satellite-launch flights early next year, and rocket wind-tunnel tests may occur next month. He said his F-104s, which sport engines with multi-stage afterburners, can carry rockets weighing up to 1,500 pounds. About supersonic F-104 Starfighter jets A Starfighters-owned F-104 supersonic jet zips past the crowds during the 2014 TICO Warbird Air Show at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville. CRAIG BAILEY/FLORIDA TODAY Nicknamed "the missile with a man in it," the needle-nosed F-104 Starfighter is a Cold War-era interceptor jet developed by the U.S. Air Force and flown by NATO nations. In 1958-59, the sleek aircraft shattered two world records by zooming up to 1,404 mph and climbing up to 103,395 feet. Crews built the final F-104 in 1980. The jet's short wingspan measures less than 22 feet. Inside the KSC hangar, Svetkoff pinched the sharp leading edge of an F-104 wing, saying the metal measures a mere 1/16-inch thick. "You can literally cut your steak with this. It's like a steak knife. Feel this," Svetkoff said, lightly touching the wing's edge. "Because of that, there's no drag. It accelerates very quick." NASA flew more than 18,000 F-104 research flights from 1956 to 1994 at the Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. During one landmark high-speed test, a jet flew a series of shuttle thermal protection tiles through rainfall — and the "shocking" results showed raindrops had gouged and scoured much of the tiles away. Afterward, NASA forbade shuttles from flying in known precipitation and used pathfinder aircraft to check for clouds and rain. Now, Starfighters Space officials hope to employ the high-performance jet as the "first stage” of, essentially, a multi-stage rocket. During a November 2022 test flight, one of the F-104s flew a instrumented test rocket under its left wing for the Italian National Research Council. This rocket is designed to someday carry a suborbital payload of 20 kg, or 44 pounds. The FAA prohibits civil aircraft from flying faster than Mach 1 over land in the United States, save missions with special flight authorization. So Svetkoff said his pilots would fly from KSC out over the Atlantic Ocean, hit Mach 2 and launch wing-mounted rockets within Space Launch Delta 45 airspace. "It sounds perfectly doable. Hypersonic research or even low-Earth orbit is definitely feasible," said John Cain, professor emeritus with the Florida Institute of Technology's College of Aeronautics. The retired U.S. Air Force colonel has flown F-100 Super Sabres, F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-111 Aardvarks. "The cost difference is astronomical. I mean, it's so much cheaper to launch an orbital satellite from a 104 than it is to even piggyback that satellite on a big mission out there. Big rockets: Those are very expensive. So in general terms, it's very cheap and very doable," he said. Cain pointed out the 1985 Air Force test where an F-15A Eagle pilot launched a two-stage ASM-135A missile at 38,100 feet — and the missile destroyed a satellite in low-Earth orbit about 350 miles above the Earth's surface, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Texas expansion to boost supersonic testing In a significant company expansion, Starfighters Space is also expanding at Midland International Air & Space Port in Texas. The company hopes to secure Federal Aviation Administration certification to fly Department of Defense-related supersonic research missions within a future high-speed airspace corridor between Midland and New Mexico's Spaceport America, just west of White Sands Missile Range. Both spaceports are separated by about 290 miles. Per an economic development agreement, Starfighters Space pledges to house at least $78 million in aircraft and equipment at the Midland airport by December 2027, the Midland Development Corporation reported. The company will conduct research and test flights for defense and space-related projects, creating 23 new full-time jobs in Midland by December 2033. "This is a significant step forward when it comes to aerospace and defense activities in Midland, as well as having some really cool pieces of aircraft that are operating out of Midland and flying out of Midland," Midland Development Corp. Executive Director Sara Harris told the Midland City Council on Sept. 24. In a related high-speed development, Boom Supersonic won FAA approval in April to exceed Mach 1 on up to 20 flights while testing its XB-1 experimental aircraft within a supersonic corridor near Edwards Air Force Base in California. "Their goal could be either suborbital, or it could be hypersonic research, or it could be low-Earth orbit," Cain said of Starfighters Space flights. "So there's kind of three regimes there. It's going to depend on how they build that rocket and that satellite cradle in there." Last December, Starfighters Space announced it is contracting with GE Innoveering on hypersonic airborne testing capabilities for DoD. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also toured the KSC hangar that month. "Recent developments in Russia and China have put a new emphasis on hypersonic research and lawmakers are pressuring the DoD to more rapidly advance their research. It has been estimated that the DOD 2024 budget for hypersonic research alone will be over $145 billion," a Starfighters Space press release said. "The national testing infrastructure is also getting old. According to Business News, a report released last year by the Government Accounting Office reported that 14 of 26 DoD, NASA and Department of Energy wind tunnels capable of supporting hypersonic research were built in the 1970s," the press release said. F-104s to serve as rocket 'first stages' Svetkoff flew A-4 Skyhawk fighters as a U.S. Navy pilot, and he later became a Continental Airlines pilot. He acquired his first flyable F-104 in 1996 and flew the high-performance jets on the air show circuit for about two decades. He said the average F-104 flight only lasts about 40 minutes. His Italian-manufactured planes were rebuilt and upgraded between 1999 and 2002 — and he likened conditions inside the cramped cockpits with sitting behind the wheel of a Formula 1 race car. "We have to order them in lots of 100. They're $1,062 apiece. And five to six landings are all they're good for. There's only one place in the world that makes them. It's over in England," Svetkoff said. "It's an expensive operation. But there's nobody that really has the appreciable balance that can equal what we can do," he said. For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space. https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2024/10/23/starfighters-space-testing-jet-wing-rocket-launches-at-nasa-kennedy-space-center-cape-canaveral/75454852007/ With JetBlue out of the picture, Frontier and Spirit Airlines are once again discussing a merger—two years after their $2.9 billion deal fell through Spirit and Frontier have been circling each other for eight years. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Spirit Airlines, still reeling from its failed merger with JetBlue, may have found another suitor. The Wall Street Journal reports Frontier Airlines is exploring a bid for the discount carrier—and if that causes a sense of déjà vu, there’s good reason. The two airlines reached a $2.9 billion buyout agreement in 2022, only to see that deal scuttled when JetBlue made a competing big. For the past eight years, in fact, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines have been the will-they-or-won’t-they couple of the airline industry, having repeated merger discussions. The talks, says the Journal, are at an early stage and may not result in a bid. A lot of that could depend on Spirit’s ongoing efforts to restructure its debt. The airline is considering a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing Spirit shares were up 27% in early trading Wednesday on the news. Spirit Airlines has not posted an annual profit since before COVID. That has resulted in the carrier having a substantial debt load. It struck a deal to be acquired by JetBlue, but the Justice Department moved to block that merger, arguing it would harm consumer choice and result in higher ticket prices. Spirit has $3.3 billion in debt with maturities coming due. The carrier has until just before the end of the year to refinance $1.1 billion in secured bonds. If it fails to do so, it could lost its ability to process credit card transactions. Spirit has already cut dozens of routes during the upcoming holiday period and furloughed 186 pilots, as well as offered incentives to customers, such as launching a business-class option and blocking off the middle seat. Frontier, meanwhile, hopes that a merger with Spirit could help it better compete against larger carriers, such as Delta, United and American, which have increasingly been taking market share away from deep discount airlines. Spirit and Frontier declined to comment on the reports. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/jetblue-picture-frontier-spirit-airlines-143720683.html Email From Boeing to Ethiopian Airlines Sheds Light on a Tragic Crash Newly revealed correspondence indicates that a Boeing senior official counseled that the company could answer a pilot’s safety question, but it did not. The questions came in the form of an email on Dec. 1, 2018, to Boeing from the chief pilot at Ethiopian Airlines. They were detailed and filled with aviation jargon. One of them was 452 words. But in essence the pilot was asking for direction. If we see a series of warnings on the new 737 Max, he posed, what do we do? What ensued was an email conversation among a number of Boeing senior officials about whether they could answer the pilot’s questions without violating international restrictions on disseminating information about a crash while it was still under investigation. That restriction was in play because a 737 Max flown by Lion Air had crashed a few weeks earlier leaving Indonesia. The inquiry from Ethiopian Airlines would prove chillingly prescient because just months later one of its 737s would go down because of a flight control malfunction similar to the one that led to the Lion Air crash. The Ethiopian Airlines crash would kill everyone on board and leave questions about whether Boeing had done everything it could to inform pilots of what it had learned about the malfunction and how to handle it. In response to the inquiry from Ethiopian Airlines, Boeing’s chief pilot, Jim Webb, proposed to his colleagues that he thank the airline for attending a previous briefing on the flight control system, called MCAS, but otherwise decline to answer the pilot’s first two questions and just refer the airline to training materials and previously issued guidance. Most of those on the email agreed. But at least one Boeing official, Simon Lie, an expert on the protocols surrounding investigations who has since left the company, argued that it could answer the question that was most centered on flight safety. “I’m good too. Although I think you could also answer question 2 without afoul of the investigation,” Mr. Lie, then a senior investigator for Boeing Commercial Airplanes who was part of the team looking into the Lion Air crash, wrote in the email, the contents of which were disclosed to a New York Times reporter. “However, if other feel we should stay away from 2, I will defer to their judgment.” That question asked Boeing what to prioritize in the event of multiple emergencies involving MCAS. Such emergencies could overwhelm pilots with caution lights, loud sounds and seemingly conflicting warnings. When the reply was sent back to the pilot the next day, Boeing did not answer that question, the email indicates. “I can only address the current system and the Operations Manual Bulletin,” Mr. Webb wrote Ethiopian Airlines. “The first two questions directly relate to the accident scenario; therefore, I will be unable to address them here.” Mr. Webb ended the email by stating that if airline officials had any additional questions about the bulletin and system, they should feel free to reach out. While the existence of the inquiry from Ethiopian Airlines and the generalities of Boeing’s response were previously reported by The Times, the internal correspondence on how the decision was reached had not been made public. Boeing previously said in interviews with The Times that its cursory response to Ethiopian Airlines was because it was prohibited by an international protocol from giving additional information while providing technical support to Indonesian authorities investigating the Lion Air crash. The protocol, known as Annex 13, governs crash investigations and was established by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency. The protocol is designed to encourage thoroughness by not emphasizing blame. But the correspondence from Mr. Lie — who co-founded an aviation safety and investigation consulting company called Annex 13 Research after leaving Boeing — to his colleagues indicates that he did not view the restriction as all-encompassing. It is impossible to know whether any pilots with Ethiopian Airlines would have acted differently if Mr. Webb’s reply had been more forthcoming. But Boeing’s limited response to an airline seeking help highlights a missed opportunity to collaborate on safety and to pass along lessons Boeing had collected following the Lion Air jet’s crash into the Java Sea on Oct. 29, 2018. Then on March 10, 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa. Investigators in the United States and abroad found that a malfunction in the MCAS was — as in the Lion Air crash — a critical factor, and the lack of information from Boeing likely hindered the pilots’ response. A Boeing spokesperson said in a statement that the company “cooperated fully and transparently with all investigations into the accidents. We’ll refer you to investigative agencies and reports for more information.” In an email after this article was published, the spokesperson added that the company had provided information to address MCAS malfunction to all 737 Max operators in November 2018, including Ethiopian Airlines. That information was provided through various channels, including operations manual bulletins and dedicated meetings and emails on the subject. Paul G. Cassell, a lawyer representing some of the families of victims of the crashes, said that the email response from Mr. Lie clearly reveals a false justification used by Boeing to evade direct questions from Ethiopian Airlines. “The emails show Boeing searching for any excuse, no matter how ridiculous, to avoid answering direct questions about the capabilities of the MCAS system,” Mr. Cassell said. Mr. Lie declined an interview request with The Times. Boeing declined to make Mr. Webb available for an interview. Boeing’s reply to Ethiopian Airlines stands in contrast to how the company responded to American-based companies around that time. Following the Lion Air disaster, Boeing took proactive steps to brief U.S. pilots on the MCAS, which stands for Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System. Domestic airlines received comprehensive insights into the system’s operations and its interaction with key flight data. Boeing’s conversations with domestic airlines emphasized the need for detailed knowledge of the behavior of the MCAS over reliance on standard checklists. The disparity in information provided to U.S. and Ethiopian pilots raises pressing questions about the adequacy of training and the responsibility of manufacturers in ensuring the safety of all flight crews. Tewolde Gebremariam, the former chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines, recalled in a recent interview with The Times that he and the other pilots had been frustrated with Mr. Webb’s response. He said that the airline’s leadership and its pilots felt Boeing was being “defensive” and “unwilling to share the information” that Ethiopian Airlines needed to learn from the Lion Air crash and prevent similar accidents. Mr. Gebremariam stated that Boeing’s attitude did not change after the Ethiopian Airlines crash. “We wanted to learn so that we save ourselves and our airline from similar accidents, but Boeing was not cooperative,” Mr. Gebremariam said. “They went on to attack and post the blame onto the two poor pilots who were dead and who couldn’t defend themselves.” An Ethiopian government investigation later determined that better communication from Boeing could have changed the outcome. New details regarding Boeing’s interactions with Ethiopian Airlines are emerging as a federal judge weighs a plea agreement between the company and the Justice Department, following the two crashes. In July, the government determined that Boeing violated the terms of the 2021 agreement reached after the Max crashes, stating that the aircraft manufacturer failed to create and maintain a program to detect and prevent violations of U.S. anti-fraud laws. In light of this violation, the Justice Department reached a new agreement with Boeing, resulting in a criminal charge. Under the plea terms, Boeing would admit to conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration regarding critical safety information related to the MCAS. The deal includes a potential fine of approximately $487 million and requires Boeing to invest at least $455 million in safety improvements over three years. However, the terms may allow the company to halve the fine based on previous payments. Victims’ families have vocally opposed the agreement, arguing that it fails to hold Boeing executives accountable for their roles in the crashes. While the Justice Department defends the plea as a fair compromise that promotes safety, families are calling for a public trial to fully investigate corporate negligence. The judge has yet to announce a timeline for a decision on the matter. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/us/politics/boeing-email-ethiopian-airlines.html CALENDAR OF EVENTS • INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SAFETY SUMMIT - November 5 - 7, 2024 (Rio De Janeiro) • NATA’s Aviation Business Conference (ABC) - November 12-13,2024, Nashville, TN • Elevate Your Organization's Safety Practices with ERAU’s SMS Course in Daytona Beach Nov. 19-21 • The Gulf Flight Safety Association (GFSA) - 26/27 of November 2024; Manama, Bahrain • Sponsor the 2025 Fuzion Safety Conference! 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