Flight Safety Information - January 10, 2025 No. 008 In This Issue : Incident: American B788 at Amsterdam on Jan 7th 2025, flap problem on departure : Cessna 525 CitationJet CJ1+ - Runway Overrun (Brazil) : American Airlines & United Airlines Flight Incident at Chicago Airport Explained : South Korea jet crash puts fast-growing Jeju Air's safety under scrutiny : Akasa Air faces serious turbulence as pilots term it laughing stock of aviation world (India) : Europe's aviation regulator issues new warning for Russian airspace : Firefighting aircraft damaged after collision with drone over Los Angeles’ Palisades Fire : State-run Pakistan International Airlines resumes direct flights to Europe after EU lifts ban : Calendar of Events Incident: American B788 at Amsterdam on Jan 7th 2025, flap problem on departure An American Airlines Boeing 787-8, registration N819AN performing flight AA-203 from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Philadelphia,PA (USA), was climbing out of Amsterdam's runway 24 when the crew requested to level off at FL060 reporting a minor technical problem. The crew advised they would want to continue on the departure route but subsequently changed, that they wanted to remain close to the airport and were returning to Amsterdam. The crew subsequently climbed the aircraft to FL130 maintaining a speed below minimum clean, turned out over the North Sea to dump fuel and returned to Amsterdam for a safe landing on runway 18R at a slightly higher than normal speed about 90 minutes after departure. Passengers reported the aircraft dumped fuel, the crew announced an issue with the flaps so that they needed to return to Amsterdam. The flight was postponed to the next day as flight AA-9605, however, could not depart with the crew announcing a hydraulic leak. The aircraft is still on the ground in Amsterdam about 50 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=5229cfb0&opt=0 Cessna 525 CitationJet CJ1+ - Runway Overrun (Brazil) Date: Thursday 9 January 2025 Time: 10:05 Type: Cessna 525 CitationJet CJ1+ Owner/operator: Private Registration: PR-GFS MSN: 525-0663 Year of manufacture: 2008 Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 5 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Destroyed Category: Accident Location: Ubatuba Airport, SP (UBT/SDUB) - Brazil Phase: Landing Nature: Unknown Departure airport: Mineiros Airport, GO (SWME) Destination airport: Ubatuba Airport, SP (UBT/SDUB) Investigating agency: CENIPA Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources Narrative: A Cessna 525 CitationJet CJ1+ overshot runway 09 at Ubatuba Airport, SP (UBT), crossed a road and broke up on a beach, bursting into flames. The pilot was killed, 4 occupants were rescued alive and three persons on the ground were also treated for injuries. UBT has a single 940 m long asphalt runway (09/27), with the first 380 meters closed for landing, according to the AIP. The distance from the paved end of runway 09 to the perimeter fence is 135 meters https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/470557 American Airlines & United Airlines Flight Incident at Chicago Airport Explained Recently, an American Airlines plane and a United Airlines aircraft collided at the Chicago airport, which has stirred discussions on social media. Following the incident, both the airlines and official authorities released multiple statements explaining the details. Here is all the information that we’ve gathered so far regarding the Chicago airport collision. Exploring American Airlines and United Airlines incident Recently, a passenger plane belonging to American Airlines clipped the tail of an aircraft from United Airlines at the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. NBC Chicago further notes that both flights were undergoing the taxiing process. American Airlines flight 1979 was getting ready for departure to the International Airport in LA. Meanwhile, United Airlines flight 219 was embarking toward the Honolulu International Airport. The timing of this minor crash was confirmed in a statement by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on its official website. They conveyed that the “American Airlines Flight 1979 struck the tail of United Airlines Flight 219” during the taxiing and “this occurred at Chicago O’Hare International Airport around 9:50 AM local time on Wednesday, Jan. 8.” Additionally, the FAA announced that an investigation would take place. It stated, “The American Airlines Boeing 737-800 was heading to Los Angeles and the United Boeing 787 was heading to Honolulu. The FAA will investigate. Please contact the airlines for further information.” Following the collision, both planes were replaced with substitutes. Moreover, the 293 passengers and 10 crew members who were boarding the United Airlines flight were moved to another plane. NBC Chicago also reported that no one faced any injury due to the impact of the collision. American Airlines also released a statement apologizing for the incident. They said, “We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this caused.” Furthermore, the airline revealed that the passengers were deplaned immediately. https://www.yahoo.com/news/american-airlines-united-airlines-flight-231353909.html South Korea jet crash puts fast-growing Jeju Air's safety under scrutiny South Korea's Choi orders immediate action on aircraft inspection as crash probe ramps up The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed at Muan International Airport lies near a concrete structure it crashed into, in Muan, South Korea, December 30, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab SEOUL/SEATTLE, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Before it suffered the deadliest crash in South Korea's history, budget airline Jeju Air (089590.KS), opens new tab was moving fast: racking up record passenger numbers and flying its aircraft more than domestic rivals and many of its global peers, data show. The high "utilisation rate" of Jeju Air's planes - the number of hours they fly in a day - is not problematic in itself, experts say, but means scheduling enough time for required maintenance is crucial. Authorities have suggested a bird strike contributed to the accident, but as part of their probe into the incident aboard Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab 737-800, police have raided the airlines' Seoul office to seize documents related to the operation and maintenance of the plane. "You're literally looking at everything," said aviation safety and crash investigation expert Anthony Brickhouse. "You're going to start off with their accident history and safety history. What kind of events have they had in the past, what happened, what was done to correct the issues?" Jeju Air told Reuters that it did not neglect maintenance procedures and that it would step up its safety efforts. The Dec. 29 crash, which killed 179 people, was the airline's first fatal accident since its 2005 founding and the first for any Korean airline in more than a decade. The company's CEO, Kim E-bae - who has been barred from travelling overseas during the investigation - told a news conference last week that Jeju's maintenance is in line with regulatory standards and that there were no maintenance issues with the doomed jet during pre-flight inspection. He acknowledged the airline's safety measures had not been sufficient in the past, but said improvements had been made. The authorities have not said poor maintenance contributed to the crash and the exact circumstances behind the disaster remain unclear. Besides the reported bird strike, authorities are looking into why the pilot may have rushed a second landing attempt after declaring an emergency, and why the landing gear was not deployed. Investigators have recovered the cockpit and flight data recorders but have not released any details. The country's transport regulator is inspecting all 101 737-800s in South Korea - more than a third of which are operated by Jeju Air - focusing on how often and how well the planes were maintained, among other considerations. Although it had recorded no violations in the last two years, it was hit with more fines and suspensions for aviation law breaches than any of its domestic rivals in 2020-2022, just during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, records show. According to transport ministry data on major airlines from 2020 to August 2024, Jeju Air was hit by about 2.3 billion won ($1.57 million) in fines and the affected aircraft were kept out of operation for a total of 41 days, according to Reuters calculations based on the data. The next-most penalized airline, T'way Air (004870.KS), opens new tab, had 2.1 billion won in fines and four days of suspended operation during that period. Jeju Air flies its planes more than any other major airline in the country, data show, and also outpaces most global peers such as Ireland's Ryanair (RYA.I), opens new tab and Malaysia's AirAsia. Jeju Air 7C2216 was flying from the Thai capital of Bangkok to Muan in southwestern South Korea at night when it belly-landed, overshot the runway and burst into flames after hitting an embankment. The aircraft flew every day in 2024, according to flight data reviewed by Reuters. UTILISATION RATES High utilisation rates are prized in the industry as an indicator of economic efficiency, especially at low-cost carriers, experts say. Jeju Air, which ranks behind only Korean Air (003490.KS), opens new tab and Asiana Air (020560.KS), opens new tab in terms of passenger volumes in the country, saw record numbers from January to December 2024, according to transport ministry data. Its monthly utilisation hours for passenger jets nearly doubled to 412 in 2023 from 2022, higher than Korean Air at 332 hours and Asiana Airlines at 304 hours, according to stock exchange filings. T'way averaged 366 hours per month in passenger and cargo jets combined, Jin Air (272450.KS), opens new tab averaged 349 hours, and Air Busan (298690.KS), opens new tab 319 hours, according to their filings. In 2024, Jeju Air flew its airplanes more each day - 11.6 hours - than almost any other airline offering cheap tickets and flying only narrowbody aircraft, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium, which calculates utilisation rates differently from the earnings filings. Only Saudi Arabia's Air Arabia flew its planes more - 12.5 hours a day. Vietnam's VietJet flew its planes 10 hours a day. Ryanair's average use was 9.3 hours, while Malaysia's AirAsia was 9 hours. China's Spring Airlines flew 8 hours a day. "The utilisation itself is not a problem," said Sim Jai-dong, a professor of aircraft maintenance at Sehan University in South Korea. "But there could be higher fatigue for pilots, crew members and mechanics given the higher utilisation rates." https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-jet-crash-puts-fast-growing-jeju-airs-safety-under-scrutiny-2025-01-10/ Akasa Air faces serious turbulence as pilots term it laughing stock of aviation world (India) CEO Dube seems to have no control over the company. Over 40 pilots, 200 crew and 35 engineers left the company and joined other companies, they said in a letter There is big trouble brewing at Akasa Air, the airlines launched by the late billionaire trader Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and two others in December 2021. A group of pilots at Akasa Air has alleged that the airline's CEO and co-founder, Vinay Dube, seems to have no control over the company. They further claimed that Akasa Air's Vice President, Captain Floyd Gracious, has brought in his associates from Jet Airways and placed them in key positions of power. These allegations were detailed in an email sent on Thursday (January 9) to Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu and his intervention was sought. The letter was also sent to Director General of Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Faiz Ahmed Kidwai and Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation Vumlunmang Vualnam. "The CEO Mr Dube, said in his recent interview that his dream was to make Akasa Air one of the best places to work, to reach world standards in safety, customer care and have an employee centric approach etc… Sadly, it's all blown and they are the laughing stock of the aviation fraternity and Mr Dube seems to have no control over the company. Over 40 pilots, 200 crew and 35 engineers left the company and joined other companies. Rather than improve their in-house issues, this company went to court against those individuals (sic)," said the letter. Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube must be finding it difficult to keep that smile on. Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube must be finding it difficult to keep that smile on.File Photo | Akasa Air Dube is an aviation industry veteran and a former CEO of Jet Airways and GoAir. Dube, Aditya Ghosh and the family of late billionaire trader Rakesh Jhunjhunwala are the backers of the airline. Akasa commenced operations in August 2022. Akasa Air is yet to comment on the development. A query sent to the airline’s management remained unanswered till the time of writing of the report. Latest in a long list of complaints The letter added that while Akasa Air claimed that they have sued the pilots who have left for breaking legal bonds, it should be noted that the company could not pursue the case against 42 pilots since they had left in a perfectly legit manner. "If you wish to investigate you will learn that many engineers choose to leave after paying bond money because they could no longer resort to unfair practices," the letter said. Since its early days, Akasa Air and its pilots have been at loggerheads. In a letter dated December 11 to aviation minister Naidu, a section of pilots sought an independent probe into the airline's management practices, training methods and safety standards. Akasa then said that it has the highest levels of job satisfaction. More recently, aviation regulator DGCA pulled up the airline on multiple occasions. In late December, DGCA handed a six-month suspension to the director of operations and the director of training at Akasa Air due to alleged deficiencies in pilot training protocols. Some of Akasa Air's pilots want Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu to intervene. DGCA order suspension of 2 directors of Akasa Air for training lapses A few days back, the regulator withdrew the Line Training Captain approval given to an Akasa Air pilot for lapses in the landing of a passenger aircraft in March 2024, till further orders. In October, DGCA had imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Akasa Air for certain lapses in the training of crew. The letter also raised safety concerns at the airline. It stated that Akasa Air trains its pilots on Simulators that are not cleared for specialised training like Low Visibility CAT 3 Operations and Navigation training called RNP. "The company is headed by individuals who have a history of failures to their credit and with department heads that even the DGCA has no faith in anymore. As late as a few weeks ago, the DGCA has imposed hefty fines because public safety has been compromised on more than one occasion," it said. Further, the letter said Akasa Air's Vice President Captain Floyd Gracious (who is suspended) along with Captain Neeraj Bhatia have been complicit in ignoring flight safety and training protocols and have put public safety in danger. Some of Akasa Air's pilots want Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu to intervene. Section of Akasa Air pilots seeks detailed DGCA audit "They have had some chamchas working under them to further their own personal agenda. The Late Mr Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and his family, along with other investors, provided the funding for this new company. The hiring team entrusted Mr Floyd to set up a professional organisation. He in turn picked up his cronies from Jet Airways and put them all in positions of power," said the letter. The letter also highlighted more than a dozen employee-related issues at the airline. It said that the company today has no roster to speak of for engineers, crew or shift personnel. It also highlighted deficiencies in Akasa's hiring, travel, on-time performance and safety protocols. https://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2025/Jan/09/akasa-air-faces-serious-turbulence-as-pilots-term-it-laughing-stock-of-aviation-world Europe's aviation regulator issues new warning for Russian airspace BERLIN, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a new alert on Thursday warning non-European carriers not to fly within western Russia airspace due to the risk of being unintentionally targeted by its air defence systems. EASA said the crash last month in Kazakhstan of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane, after Russian air defences fired against Ukrainian drones, demonstrated the high risk at play. At least 38 people died in the crash. "The ongoing conflict following the Russian invasion of Ukraine poses the risk of civil aircraft being unintentionally targeted in the airspace of the Russian Federation due to possible civil-military coordination deficiencies, and the potential for misidentification," EASA said. "EASA recommends not to operate within the affected airspace of the Russian Federation located west of longitude 60° East at all altitudes and flight levels." Advertisement · Scroll to continue The warning was for third-country operators authorised by EASA, given Russian airspace has been closed to European Union airlines since the bloc imposed Ukraine-related sanctions targeting Russia's aviation sector. Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation told Reuters last month that Russian air defences had mistakenly shot the airliner down. Passengers said they heard a loud bang outside the plane. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/europes-aviation-regulator-issues-new-warning-russian-airspace-2025-01-09/ Firefighting aircraft damaged after collision with drone over Los Angeles’ Palisades Fire Under federal law, it is a crime to interfere with firefighting efforts, punishable with up to 12 months in prison and significant fines. Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) are in place that prevents members of the public from flying drones. LOS ANGELES - A firefighting aircraft collided with a drone while attempting to contain the Palisades Fire, northwest of Los Angeles, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday. The FAA launched an investigation after learning about the incident, which underscored the dangers of drones interfering with wildfire response efforts. None of the firefighters were reported to be injured in the incident, and the plane was able to safely land despite damage to the Super Scooper. "Firefighting aircraft fly at very low altitudes, typically just a couple of hundred feet above the ground, the same altitude as drones flown by members of the public and others. This creates the potential for a mid-air collision or pilot distraction that could result in a serious or fatal accident," the agency previously stated. Super Scooper collides with drone in Southern California The firefighting plane from Canada was last seen grounded at the Van Nuys Airport, northwest of Los Angeles. Under federal law, it is a crime to interfere with firefighting efforts, punishable by up to 12 months in prison and significant fines. Neither the FAA nor local law enforcement have announced any arrests in connection with the incident, and it is believed the drone was destroyed in the collision. Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) were in place at the time of the collision that prevent members of the public from flying drones. "The FAA has not authorized anyone unaffiliated with the Los Angeles firefighting operations to fly drones in the TFRs. All other aircraft, including drones, are prohibited from flying in TFRs unless they receive authorization," the agency stated. The Palisades Fire is one of six major blazes burning around Los Angeles County that have destroyed at least 10,000 structures. During times of relaxed wind gusts, firefighters have resorted to helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to drop water and other fire retardants on the flames in an effort to gain the upper hand. The FAA encourages anyone with information regarding illegal drone flights to contact their Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) or local law enforcement. https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/faa-flying-fire-crash-california State-run Pakistan International Airlines resumes direct flights to Europe after EU lifts ban State-run Pakistan International Airlines has resumed direct flights to Europe following a decision by the European Union’s aviation safety agency to lift a four-year ban over safety standards ISLAMABAD -- ISLAMABAD (AP) — State-run Pakistan International Airlines resumed direct flights to Europe on Friday following a decision by the European Union’s aviation safety agency to lift a four-year ban over safety standards, officials said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the resumption, saying it would help improve the airline’s image. The flight from Islamabad to Paris was fully booked with more than 300 passengers, the airline said. Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif inaugurated the twice-a-week flights and vowed that PIA will expand its operations to other European countries soon. Asif said in a speech that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency had imposed the ban on PIA's operations to Europe because of an “irresponsible statement” by a former aviation minister. The curb on PIA was imposed in 2020 after 97 people died when a PIA plane crashed in Karachi in southern Pakistan. Then-Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said an investigation into the crash found that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated on their pilot’s exams. A government probe later concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error. The ban caused a loss of nearly $150 million a year in revenue for PIA, officials say. Also Friday, the first international flight from Gwadar, a new airport in southwestern Pakistan, departed for Muscat, government officials said. The Chinese-funded airport was inaugurated by Chinese Premier Li Qiang in October. The airport, Pakistan's largest, is located in restive southwestern Balochistan province and is part of a massive investment by Beijing that links a deep seaport and airport on the Arabian Sea by road with China. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/state-run-pakistan-international-airlines-resumes-direct-flights-117540453 CALENDAR OF EVENTS · Sponsor the 2025 Fuzion Safety Conference! March 4 & 5, 2025 (Orlando) · · "Automation in Transportation: Lessons for Safe Implementation," on March 11-12, 2025, in Washington, DC. · Annual Women in Aviation International Conference, Gaylord Rockies Resort & Conference Center | Denver Colorado, March 27-29, 2025 · 59th Annual SMU Air Law Symposium is scheduled March 31 - April 2, 2025 · Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) Safety Symposium April 7-9, 2025 · AIA Conference: The Aviation Insurance Association's annual conference in Orlando, Florida from April 25–28, 2025 · Sixth Edition of International Accident Investigation Forum, 21 to 23 May 2025, Singapore · The 9th Shanghai International Aerospace Technology and Equipment Exposition 2025; June 11 to 13, 2025 Curt Lewis