Flight Safety Information - February 10, 2025 No. 029 In This Issue : All 10 onboard Alaska plane confirmed dead in crash : Airbus explains decision to put Beluga airline to bed : America’s Air-Traffic Control System Is an International Disgrace : Biden Pumps Nearly $1 Billion Into Airport Modernization Projects : TSA And Aviation Safety Advisory Committee Face Changes Under Trump : Schumer urges DHS to reinstate aviation security panel inspired by Pan Am 103 bombing : Incident: TUI B38M at London on Feb 5th 2025, bird strikes on departure : A look back at a 1986 fatal plane crash that changed aviation safety : Incident: Volaris A21N at Hermosillo on Jan 21st 2025, engine fire : NTSB investigates deadly plane crash near Nome, focus shifts to wreckage recovery : Incident: Easyjet A20N near Athens on Feb 8th 2025, captain incapacitated : Calendar of Events All 10 onboard Alaska plane confirmed dead in crash Mike Wendling BBC News•@mwendling Note: Watch timelapse shows low visibility at time Alaska plane drops off radar and crash site photo in the original artice. Crews are still working to recover the bodies of 10 people killed in a plane crash in Alaska, officials have said. Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the investigation into the crash was in its "early stages" and it was too soon to tell what caused it. The Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, operated by regional operator Bering Air, was travelling from Unalakleet to Nome on Thursday when it lost radar contact. Nine passengers and a pilot were on board the plane when it came down in Norton Sound about 34 miles (55km) south-east of Nome, a city of about 3,500 on Alaska's west coast. Among the dead were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson, two employees of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. They had travelled to Unalakleet to carry out maintenance work on a water plant, the non-profit organisation said on Friday. Ms Homendy said that nine investigators are on the scene, backed up by specialists in Washington DC. "Recovery efforts are still under way, with the priority being victim recovery," she said during a news conference in Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. "I would like to take a moment and expend our deepest condolences to people who lost loved ones in this tragedy," she said. Ms Homendy said recovery workers were dealing with deteriorating weather conditions and that the wreckage had landed on an ice floe which is moving at a rate of five miles a day. In a statement, Bering Air, which operates commercial and charter flights, expressed its condolences and said it would be cooperating with the investigation into the crash. Alaska State Troopers said it had been notified of an "overdue" aircraft at 16:00 local time on Thursday (01:00 GMT). The Nome volunteer fire department said the pilot had told air traffic controllers that "he intended to enter a holding pattern while waiting for the runway to be cleared". The US Coast Guard later said the plane had experienced a rapid loss in altitude and speed before contact was lost. Footage showed low visibility in the area around the time of the crash. Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski shared her condolences following the incident. "Alaska is a big small town. When tragedy strikes, we're never far removed from the Alaskans directly impacted," she wrote online. Alaska's Governor, Mike Dunleavy, said he was "heartbroken" by the disappearance of the flight. "Our prayers are with the passengers, the pilot, and their loved ones during this difficult time," he said. All 10 onboard Alaska plane confirmed dead in crash Airbus explains decision to put Beluga airline to bed By David Kaminski-Morrow, FlightGlobal; and Damian Brett, Air Cargo News 5 February 2025 Note: See photos in the original article. Last month Airbus decided to close its ABT operation just 14 months after gaining its AOC. So what went wrong? When Airbus began to put its five BelugaST aircraft into action on the commercial market in 2022, the move appeared to make sense – demand was surging as the world recovered from the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine had curtailed the availability of Volga-Dnepr’s and Antonov Airline’s AN-124 fleet as well as AirBridgeCargo’s nose loading Boeing 747s. Meanwhile, the A300-600ST Belugas themselves were no longer needed by Airbus to ferry aircraft parts across the Atlantic as they were being superseded by six larger BelugaXLs based on the A330-700L. The aircraft initially offered commercial flights through its in-house logistics AOC, Airbus Transport International, but in November 2023 the aircraft started being transferred over to its dedicated commercial operation, Airbus Beluga Transport (ABT). However, last month Airbus took the decision to close its ABT operation just 14 months after gaining its AOC. So what went wrong? Speaking to Air Cargo News’ sister title FlightGlobal (FG), the company says: “Overall, the cargo market development is not the reason for [ABT] to close its business, as operational issues were the biggest challenge instead.” FG says the Beluga has a high main cargo deck, and Airbus had to develop a tailored lifting platform capable of handling outsize loads and which could be transported to the destination. It adds that the aircraft required “specific” handling procedures and a dedicated, trained crew for loading and unloading. When it was closed, ABT operated four of the airframer’s five A300-600STs. The company has not elaborated on the take-up from potential customers, but says it routinely reviews the business performance of affiliates, in order to “address structural losses, propose alternative solutions and take the necessary decision to protect its employees and assets”. Airbus Beluga Transport has 75 employees. All employees have been informed of the decision and Airbus says it is “committed” to assisting all affected personnel to find alternative roles either within the company or elsewhere. The company has yet to decide on the medium- and long-term future of the A300-600ST fleet, but the aircraft will initially revert to the air operator’s certificate of Airbus Transport International. “To what extent Airbus Transport International will be operating the [A300-600ST] is subject to the respective ongoing planning,” says Airbus. While the airframer is closing its outsize freight airline, it insists broader airfreight market demand remains strong – even though some activity has switched to sea transport – and the company will continue to “play an active role”. “Airbus’ product portfolio consists of different individual offerings,” says the company, adding that the outsize cargo transport service is “not linked” to its passenger-to-freighter conversion business or the development of the A350 freighter. Airbus explains decision to put Beluga airline to bed America’s Air-Traffic Control System Is an International Disgrace A cumbersome federal bureaucracy oversees the safety of our skies. Can it be reformed? An American Airlines American Eagle plane takes off from Reagan National Airport in front of wreckage from the crash involving an American Eagle plane and helicopter over the Potomac river in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 30, 2025. (Allison Robbert for The Washington Post via Getty Images) Note: See photo in the original article. By John Tierney We still don’t know how many mistakes led to the collision of a helicopter with an American Airlines passenger jet making its descent at Reagan National Airport last week. But one thing has been clear for decades: America’s air-traffic control system, once the world’s most advanced, has become an international disgrace. Long before the Obama and Biden administrations’ quest to diversify staff in control towers, the system was already one of the worst in the developed world. The recent rash of near-collisions is the result of chronic mismanagement that has left the system with too few controllers using absurdly antiquated technology. The problems were obvious 20 years ago, when I visited control towers in both Canada and the United States. The Canadians sat in front of sleek computer screens that instantly handled tasks like transferring the oversight of a plane from one controller to another. The Americans were still using pieces of paper called flight strips. After a plane took off, the controller in charge of the local airspace had to carry that plane’s flight strip over to the desk of the controller overseeing the regional airspace. It felt like going back in time from a modern newsroom into a scene from The Front Page. It was bad enough to see such outdated technology in 2005. But they’re still using those paper flight strips in American towers, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s modernization plans have been delayed so many times that the strips aren’t due to be phased out for several years. The rest of the system is similarly archaic. The U.S. is way behind Europe in using satellites to guide and monitor planes, forcing pilots and controllers to rely on much less precise readings from radio beacons and ground-based radar. This article originally appeared in City Journal. Sign up for their free newsletter here. Overseas controllers use high-resolution cameras and infrared sensors to monitor planes on runways, but many American controllers still have to look out the window—which is why a FedEx cargo plane almost landed on top of another plane two years ago in Austin, Texas. It was a foggy morning, and the controller couldn’t see that a Southwest airliner was on the same runway waiting to take off. At the last minute, the FedEx pilot aborted the landing, barely missing the other plane. The basic problem, which reformers have been trying to remedy since the Clinton administration, is that the system is operated by a cumbersome federal bureaucracy—the same bureaucracy that’s also responsible for overseeing air safety. The Federal Aviation Administration is supposed to be a watchdog, but we’ve put it in charge of watching itself. Nearly all other developed countries sensibly separate these roles, so that a federal aviation agency oversees an independent corporation that operates the control towers and the rest of the system, functioning as a public utility. This independent operator can be a state-owned company (as in Australia, Switzerland, Germany, and Scandinavian countries), a nonprofit corporation (as in Canada), or a company with private investors (as in the United Kingdom and Italy). In 2017, the Trump administration and Republican congressional leadership tried creating a similar system in the U.S., operated by a not-for-profit corporation. The bill was backed by some Democrats and by a broad coalition that included even the union representing air-traffic controllers, which had previously helped block reform but finally decided that this was the only way to fix the system. The legislation also enjoyed support from unions representing pilots and flight attendants, the major airlines, and a bipartisan array of former officials at the FAA and the Department of Transportation. The bill went nowhere, partly because many legislators, especially Democrats, wanted to retain Congress’s control over the system—and the campaign contributions and pork-barrel opportunities that came with it. But the effort was doomed, mainly because of opposition from private plane owners, who pay a pittance for the services they use. Although the legislation guaranteed that they would not be charged new user fees, their lobbyists scared enough lawmakers to quash it. Now, after the Washington collision, could the second Trump administration and a new Republican Congress finally create a state-of-the-art system? “The public and opinion leaders now know a lot more about the FAA’s shortcomings,” Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation told me. He has been leading the reform campaign for five decades. “With [the Department of Government Efficiency] and the Trump administration shaking things up, perhaps the time for real reform has finally arrived.” President Trump’s presidential memorandum last week demanding a review of aviation safety focused on investigating and eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in hiring controllers. Unsuccessful applicants for those jobs have sued the FAA, contending that the agency practiced racial discrimination by introducing a “biographical assessment” to favor minorities at the expense of other applicants, including those better prepared because they had taken college courses in air-traffic control. “The FAA affirmative-action scandal is indeed a scandal,” Marc Scribner of the Reason Foundation told me. “The biographical questionnaire was gamed to rig the application selection for a limited number of training spots. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it caused unqualified controllers to be certified, which some have alleged following the latest accident.” The safety review that Trump ordered should shed some light on the competence issue, and the investigation of the D.C. crash could reveal whether the controller bears any responsibility for the helicopter flying into the airliner. (Critics have said that the warning to the helicopter pilot failed to specify where to look for the plane.) Whatever evidence turns up, the FAA has already been ordered to scrap identity politics and hire controllers based strictly on merit. Eliminating diversity mandates is just one small step in the right direction. The system will remain mired in mid-twentieth-century technology until it’s run by an independent corporation accountable to regulators but freed from congressional micromanagement, annual budget battles, and the federal bureaucracy’s convoluted hiring and procurement regulations. Experience in Canada and other countries shows that an independent corporation, able to issue its own revenue bonds because it’s funded directly by user fees instead of taxes, can modernize air-traffic control far more efficiently and cheaply than a government agency. Reforming the system is an ideal issue for the new administration, particularly Elon Musk and his team at DOGE. It would help drain the D.C. swamp, shrink the federal budget deficit, improve aviation safety, reduce flight delays, conserve fuel, lower carbon emissions, and save money for airlines and passengers. It’s inspiring to dream of sending Americans to Mars in a new golden age, but the ones flying closer to home are still stuck in the Stone Age. America’s Air-Traffic Control System Is an International Disgrace Biden Pumps Nearly $1 Billion Into Airport Modernization Projects An airport construction boom across the U.S. will bring wider concourses, more security checkpoints, better baggage systems, additional gate capacity and upgraded air traffic control towers. By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff. Suzanne Rowan Kelleher covers travel for Forbes. The White House announced Thursday it was allocating nearly $1 billion in federal funding for infrastructure projects to modernize 114 U.S. airports across 44 states and three territories. The $970 million in funding will be used to create wider concourses, larger security checkpoints, more efficient baggage systems, additional gate capacity and more modern air traffic control towers. This new round of grants comes on top of the nearly $2 billion for airport terminals announced over the past two years. “We’re living through an unprecedented round of investment and improvements in all forms of our country’s infrastructure,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “These investments we’re announcing today, made possible by President Biden’s historic infrastructure package, will make it easier for passengers to get to and through airports, create jobs, and increase safety for all.” The funding for the projects comes from the Airport Terminal Program, one of three aviation programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which comes on the heels of more than $240 million in funding for Airport Infrastructure Grants. The law provides $1 billion annually for five years for Airport Terminal Program grants. In total, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide $25 billion to modernize the United States’ airport infrastructure. Among the airports receiving the most funding is Chicago O’Hare International Airport, which is allocated $40 million to improve Terminal 3 to widen the central passenger corridor, reconfigure a TSA checkpoint, add a new holdroom and restroom, and update the baggage system. Washington Dulles International Airport will receive $35 million to build a 400,000-square-foot, 14-gate terminal including connections to the Aerotrain and Metrorail. Los Angeles International Airport in Southern California has been awarded $31 million to improve surrounding roadways, including underground storm water containment systems. Denver International Airport, which just opened a new $51-million taxiway last fall, is getting another $26.6 million in federal funds to help replace the current baggage handling system with one that is more energy efficient and has greater capacity. Salt Lake City International Airport, which is nearing the end of a 12-year, $5-billion overhaul, was recently named the “Utahn of the Year” by The Salt Lake Tribune for injecting $11 billion annually into the economy. It will receive $20 million in federal funding to expand the Concourse B terminal, including 16 gates. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who voted for the Infrastructure Bill in 2021, issued a press release taking credit for the $13 million secured for Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. That sum includes $7.5 million to partially fund four additional screening lanes to the security checkpoint in Terminal A. North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, who also voted for the Infrastructure Bill, penned a press release touting that Hector International Airport in Fargo is granted $10 million to rehabilitate the terminal and add four new gates, increase holdroom space, expand ticketing and baggage handling, add restrooms and post-security concessions and improve accessibility for people with disabilities. Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who also voted for the Infrastructure Bill in 2021, announced in a press release that $18 million in federal funding has been allocated for airport improvements across her state. About a third of that sum, $6.5 million, will go to Presque Isle International Airport to partially fund construction a new terminal. Congressman Mike Turner, who represents Ohio’s 10th District, touted the $2.9 million in funding for Dayton International Airport in a press release, noting that he had written to Polly Trottenberg, then-acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in November in support of Dayton International Airport’s grant application for the Airport Terminals Program. “The funds will go towards improving structural safety, energy efficiency and lighting inside of certain passenger boarding bridges in Concourse B,” Congressman Turner wrote. Notably, Turner voted against the Infrastructure Bill three years ago. Biden Pumps Nearly $1 Billion Into Airport Modernization Projects TSA And Aviation Safety Advisory Committee Face Changes Under Trump Story by Natasha Decker • 1w • 2 min read During its first week back in office, the Trump administration has targeted the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC). ASAC is with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The advisory committee was established in 1989 following a terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103 the year prior. ASAC counsels the TSA on aviation security, and many of its recommendations have been adopted over the past 35 years. Stakeholder groups represented in the committee include airlines, aviation worker unions, airport operators, and more. On January 21, ASAC members received a memo stating that their memberships had been terminated, according to the Associated Press. While the advisory committee itself will remain, there will no longer be members to conduct its work, making it defunct. The reasoning for scraping the members was allegedly explained as a “commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security.” On January 21, ASAC members received a memo stating that their memberships had been terminated, according to the Associated Press. While the advisory committee itself will remain, there will no longer be members to conduct its work, making it defunct. The reasoning for scraping the members was allegedly explained as a “commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security.” Also major in the aviation world, TSA Administrator David Pekoske has been fired under Trump’s latest administration. Trump appointed Pekoske during his first term as president, and the TSA leader was reappointed during the Biden administration. What Else Should I Know About Trump’s Changes In The Aviation World? Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 say that the DHS’ memorandum on ASAC means that the advisory committee “will cease to exist.” “Today’s action by the Trump Administration will undermine aviation security in the United States and across the globe,” said Kara Weipz, president of Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. It’s unclear what other committees were impacted by this week’s DHS changes, or what else Trump’s second term has in store for the aviation industry. Benjamine C. Huffman, Acting DHS Secretary, reportedly stated, “Future committee activities will be focused solely on advancing our critical mission to protect the homeland and support DHS’s strategic priorities.” The post TSA And Aviation Safety Advisory Committee Face Changes Under Trump appeared first on Travel Noire. TSA And Aviation Safety Advisory Committee Face Changes Under Trump Schumer urges DHS to reinstate aviation security panel inspired by Pan Am 103 bombing By Luke Parsnow New York State PUBLISHED 12:44 PM ET Feb. 04, 2025 U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to reinstate the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a panel of which President Donald Trump eliminated all members of a day after coming into office. Members of the committee received a memo on Jan. 21 saying the membership of all advisory committees was being eliminated as part of a “commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security.” The committee was mandated by Congress after the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 259 people in the air and 11 on the ground, including 35 Syracuse University students flying home for Christmas after a semester abroad. The group included representatives of all the key groups in the industry — including the airlines and major unions — as well as members of a group associated with the victims of the PanAm 103 bombing. “This unwise, unjustified and dangerous move risks the safety of our skies by taking away a key tool to strengthen aviation security, and it possibly violated the law. Beyond that, it is deeply insulting to the memory of those lost that day, including the 35 precious students from Syracuse University,” Schumer said in a statement. Schumer sent a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. At this time, the committee technically continues to exist but it doesn’t have any members to carry out the work of examining safety issues at airlines and airports. “Dismantling the aviation security committee inspired by Pan Am Flight 103, and the awful loss of the 35 Syracuse University students and other Americans murdered that day, is callous and risks airline safety. For decades, nonpartisan members of the Committee, including family members of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, have made life-saving recommendations to the federal government to enhance aviation security. Now all that work will cease. It makes absolutely no sense. The Department of Homeland Security needs to immediately right this wrong,” Schumer said. Kara Weipz is the president of Victims of Pan Am Flight 103. Her brother, Rick Monetti, was an SU student onboard. “This action by the Trump Administration will undermine aviation security in the United States and across the globe,” said Weipz. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Schumer urges DHS to reinstate aviation security panel inspired by Pan Am 103 bombing Incident: TUI B38M at London on Feb 5th 2025, bird strikes on departure By Simon Hradecky, created Friday, Feb 7th 2025 16:49Z, last updated Friday, Feb 7th 2025 16:49Z Note: See a photo of the incident in the original article. A TUI Airways Boeing 737-8 MAX, registration G-TUMP performing flight BY-432 from London Gatwick,EN (UK) to Sal (Cape Verde), was climbing through about 1000 feet out of Gatwick's runway 26L when the crew stopped the climb at FL080 after two swans impacted the aircraft nose and windshield. The aircraft entered a hold before positioning to land back on Gatwick's runway 26L about 50 minutes after departure. A replacement Boeing 737-8 MAX registration G-TUMX reached Sal with a delay of about 3 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in London about 54 hours after landing back. Incident: TUI B38M at London on Feb 5th 2025, bird strikes on departure A look back at a 1986 fatal plane crash that changed aviation safety By Elissa Salamy Published February 6, 2025 5:23pm EST DC Plane Crash Investigation FOX 5 DC ARCHIVES: 1986 Congress takes hard look at aviation safety Nearly three decades before last week’s deadly mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter, a deadly plane crash in Los Angeles changed aviation safety standards forever. WASHINGTON - Nearly three decades before last week’s deadly mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter, a deadly plane crash in Los Angeles changed aviation safety standards forever. The backstory: On August 31, 1986, Aeroméxico Flight 498 was clipped by a private Piper PA-28 Archer in the skies above the Cerritos neighborhood of Los Angeles. The collision killed all 64 passengers on board the Aeromexico flight, all three aboard the PA-28 and 15 more on the ground. Read the full NTSB report from the 1986 collision here. The crash was the catalyst for change in America’s air traffic system. In 1986 and before, the only way for pilots to avoid a collision was to visually see the aircraft. At the time, the only crash avoidance systems in the air were experimental. Following the tragic plane crash in 1986, the FAA began requiring that all commercial jets be equipped with a traffic collision avoidance system, also known as TCAS. How does TCAS work? Big picture view: TCAS continuously detects other aircraft within about 12 miles. Transponders on planes with TCAS automatically communicate with each other and relay their position in the air – and pilots then determine what course to take. TCAS operates independently of ground-based equipment to provide pilots with guidance on how to avoid a potential collision. How did TCAS factor into the DC plane crash? Dig deeper: The American Airlines flight and the Black Hawk helicopter collided at too low of an altitude for TCAS to send an alert. That’s how it’s designed – TCAS avoids sending alerts at low altitudes to avoid distracting pilots and crew during takeoff and landing. "It is very unlikely that the TCAS on the airliner would have provided any alerts to the flight crew," said Wesley Olson, leader of the transportation and resilience group at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, in an interview with The Washington Post. READ MORE: NTSB investigates altitude data of Black Hawk helicopter in deadly midair collision A look back at a 1986 fatal plane crash that changed aviation safety Incident: Volaris A21N at Hermosillo on Jan 21st 2025, engine fire By Simon Hradecky, created Friday, Feb 7th 2025 20:30Z, last updated Friday, Feb 7th 2025 20:32Z A Volaris Airbus A321-200N, registration N543VL performing flight Y4-381 from Hermosillo to Mexico City (Mexico), was climbing out of Hermosillo's runway 23 when the crew received a right hand engine (PW1133G) fire indication, stopped the climb at 4000 feet and returned to Hermosillo for a safe landing on runway 23 about 10 minutes after departure. Mexico's AIB rated the occurrence a serious incident and reported the crew heard the fire alarm and saw the indication of engine #2 fire on the ECAM, discharged one fire bottle, declared Mayday and returned to Hermosillo. The occurrence is investigated by Mexico's AIB. The aircraft returned to service on Feb 6th 2025. Incident: Volaris A21N at Hermosillo on Jan 21st 2025, engine fire NTSB investigates deadly plane crash near Nome, focus shifts to wreckage recovery Arielle Ingram-David Feb 9, 2025 Updated 4 hrs ago The bodies of all 10 people on board a plane that crashed near Nome have now been recovered. Investigators are now trying to piece together what led to the tragedy. Officials, including the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), are working to gather evidence from the crash site of the plane that killed ten people near Nome. The overdue Bering Air Caravan flight from Unalakleet to Nome with 9 passengers and 1 pilot, now has the full attention of the NTSB, who says that currently, now that all of the bodies have been recovered their main focus is on being transparent with the families. "Part of my role here is to work with families and speak with the families about what we're doing in the investigation, and that's incredibly important," Jennifer Homendy, chair of the said National Transportation Safety Board. "Alaska aviation is a really tight-knit community, and so we are partners helping ensure safety. And it's important that we're here." With victim recovery complete, the NTSB, along with federal and state partners, will move on to recovering the wreckage. However, they are racing against time and nature as weather is predicted to change and the crash is moving five miles each day. "We have wreckage that's on an ice floe that's moving," said Homendy. "There are three Blackhawks and one C-130 ready to help with the recovery. We've put a target on the ice floe so we know where it's at all times. But it makes things very difficult." The weather was moderately wintry and icy when the plane departed from Unalakleet, according to Homendy, however it's too early to determine why things happened the way they did. "Right now Our focus is on the perishable evidence," Said Homendy. "What that means is we need to get the records and that is our whole focus. Then we can interview anyone with air traffic control or those records and begin to evaluate that as part of our investigation but to early right now." Now the names of the ten people who were on the plane to Nome have been released, and their families have been notified. The NTSB team has plans to be here for a "few weeks" according to Homendy, but the preliminary report could be released within the next 30 days. And then after that, it could take up to a year to finalize the investigation. But at any time, if we see safety deficiencies, we will not hesitate to issue urgent safety recommendations or an urgent safety report. NTSB investigates deadly plane crash near Nome, focus shifts to wreckage recovery Incident: Easyjet A20N near Athens on Feb 8th 2025, captain incapacitated By Simon Hradecky, created Sunday, Feb 9th 2025 14:53Z, last updated Sunday, Feb 9th 2025 14:53Z An Easyjet Airbus A320-200N, registration G-UZEE performing flight U2-2252 from Hurghada (Egypt) to Manchester,EN (UK), was enroute at FL360 about 110nm southsoutheast of Athens (Greece) when the first officer decided to divert to Athens reporting the captain was ill. The aircraft landed safely on Athens' runway 03L about one hour later. The airline reported the captain needed medical attention, the first officer performed a routine landing. Paramedics met the aircraft upon arrival. The onward flight was delayed over night and will continue the following day. Hotel rooms and meals were available. Passengers reported about 2 hours into the flight cabin crew were calling for medical staff amongst the passengers, a man had collapsed, several passengers responded to the call, a privacy screen was put in place in the front of the cabin. Cabin crew subsequently told the passengers that the man was in fact the captain of the flight. Emergency services were awaiting the aircraft. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Athens about 15 hours after landing. Incident: Easyjet A20N near Athens on Feb 8th 2025, captain incapacitated Curt Lewis