Flight Safety Information - February 25, 2025 No. 040 In This Issue : Incident: Cathay Pacific B744 at Hong Kong on Feb 22nd 2025, hydraulic failure : Incident: BoA B737 at Cochabamba on Feb 22nd 2025, bird strike : Incident: Delta B712 at Atlanta on Feb 24th 2025, haze in cabin : Incident: Asiana A359 at San Francisco on Feb 23rd 2025, low altitude alert on final approach : Virgin Airlines pilot first alerted authorities to Chinese live fire danger on Friday : Man removes shoes, climbs onto airplane wing at Las Vegas airport : Airplane bound for Okinawa returns to airport after blast sounds heard from engine area : Japan's ANA to buy at least 77 aircraft from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer : Air Premia Enhances Flight Safety with IATA Turbulence Aware : Delhi HC Increases Rest to 48 Hours for Indian Pilots : Delta Airlines Flight Diverted to Yakima Airport : New EU sanctions target airlines operating domestic flights in Russia : Smoke Diverts Two Delta Flights : Calendar of Events Incident: Cathay Pacific B744 at Hong Kong on Feb 22nd 2025, hydraulic failure A Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-400 freighter, registration B-LIF performing flight CX-3719 from Hong Kong (China) to Singapore (Singapore), was climbing out of Hong Kong's runway 07R when the crew stopped the climb at FL110 reporting a hydraulic failure. The aircraft entered a hold, dumped fuel and returned to Hong Kong for a safe landing on runway 07R about 50 minutes after departure. The airline reported the crew suspected a hydraulic failure after departure. The aircraft is still on the ground in Hong Kong about 38 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=524823b7&opt=0 Incident: BoA B737 at Cochabamba on Feb 22nd 2025, bird strike A BoA Boliviana de Aviacion Boeing 737-700, registration CP-3018 performing flight OB-922 from Cochabamba to La Paz (Bolivia), was climbing out of Cochabamba when an engine (CFM56) ingested a bird prompting the crew to return to Cochabamba for a safe landing. The airline reported CP-3018 ingested a bird into one of its engines and returned to Cochabamba. https://avherald.com/h?article=524821ca&opt=0 Incident: Delta B712 at Atlanta on Feb 24th 2025, haze in cabin A Delta Airlines Boeing 717-200, registration N942AT performing flight DL-876 from Atlanta,GA to Columbia,SC (USA) with 94 passengers and 5 crew, was climbing through about 2000 feet out of Atlanta's runwa 27R when the crew donned their oxygen masks, declared emergency with tower reporting smoke in the cabin, stopped the climb at 4000 feet and requested immediate vectors for a return to Atlanta as well as fire trucks at the runway. The aircraft landed safely on runway 27L about 10 minutes after departure, stopped on the runway and was evacuated via slides. https://avherald.com/h?article=52481feb&opt=0 Incident: Asiana A359 at San Francisco on Feb 23rd 2025, low altitude alert on final approach An Asiana Airbus A350-900, registration HL8382 performing flight OZ-212 from Seoul (South Korea) to San Francisco,CA (USA), was on final approach to San Francisco's runway 28L cleared to land at 14:01L (22:01Z), when tower issued a low altitude alert advising the crew to immediately check their altitude, altimeter 30.26. Tower instructed a go around. The crew initiated a go around, positioned for another approach and landed without further incident about 16 minutes after the go around. According to ADS-B data the aircraft was descending through about 650 feet AGL (325 feet according to transponder measuring to standard pressure corrected for actual ambient pressure) when the aircraft should have been at 1000 feet 3.05nm before the runway threshold. https://avherald.com/h?article=524814ac&opt=0 Virgin Airlines pilot first alerted authorities to Chinese live fire danger on Friday In short: Airservices Australia has detailed how a Virgin Australia pilot first alerted the danger of Chinese live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea on Friday morning. Officials have told Parliament 49 flights had to be diverted on Friday, as well as more flights over the weekend. What's next? The government says it is yet to receive a satisfactory response from Beijing about the inadequate notice given about the military drills. Aviation officials have revealed they first learnt of a potential Chinese "live fire" military exercise in the Tasman Sea last week after a Virgin Airlines pilot relayed warnings he had picked up mid-flight via an emergency radio frequency. Airservices Australia representatives have told a parliamentary hearing that almost 50 flights were forced to divert on Friday after the People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) signalled it was conducting the hazardous drills in busy international airspace. Under questioning from opposition senators, Airservices Australia CEO Rob Sharp has confirmed the government-owned organisation responsible for managing air traffic became aware of the danger to aircraft at 9:58am on Friday, Canberra time. "It was in fact a Virgin Australia aircraft that advised one of our air traffic controllers that a foreign warship was broadcasting that they were conducting live firing 300 nautical miles east off our coast," Mr Sharp said. "At 10am our air traffic control commenced what we call a 'hazard alert' which basically alerts all flights in the area that there's a hazard, so that was done within 2 minutes." Deputy Airservices Australia CEO Peter Curran explained to the committee that the Virgin pilot monitored radio transmissions direct from one of the Chinese warships via an 'international guard frequency', which is not monitored by air traffic controllers. "We can't hear what was said, so the pilot of the Virgin aircraft heard what was said from the Chinese vessel, relayed that back to air traffic control [who] then passed that through our system and started giving hazard alerting to all aircraft on the frequency," Mr Curran said. "Just after 10am our national operations centre contacted Defence Joint Operations Command and advised of the situation, bearing in mind at that stage we didn't know whether it was a potential hoax or real, we simply passed the information through." Mr Curran also confirmed an ABC news report on Friday that New Zealand-bound Emirates flight UAE3HJ was then directly warned by the Chinese warships about the live firing exercises, at about 10:18am. Chinese gave live fire warning with planes 'literally flying across the Tasman' Photo shows Chinese vessels on the horizon are watched by silhouetted sailors.Chinese vessels on the horizon are watched by silhouetted sailors. An Emirates flight from Sydney to Christchurch was directly warned by the Chinese military to avoid airspace on Friday morning, before Chinese vessels were believed to have conducted live fire exercises. "An Emirates flight was also in contact with the warships, and which was advised that they were conducting live firing between 0930 and 14:00 [local time]," Mr Curran told the estimates hearing. "[On] Friday some 49 aircraft in total diverted, some of that was the aircraft that was in the air at the time that we first became aware of it, many of them were flights afterwards, subsequently flight planned to simply reroute around the airspace." Officials say trans-Tasman flight plans had to be diverted throughout the weekend as "a matter of precaution", with the measures finally lifted on Monday morning once the PLA-N taskforce had moved further south away from international airways. Last week Defence Minister Richard Marles said Beijing had failed to give satisfactory reasons for what he called the inadequate notice of Friday's live-fire drill, telling ABC Radio Perth, "we became aware of the issue during the course of the day". During an appearance on ABC's Q+A on Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the action occurred outside Australia's economic zone and that notice had been given, though it would have been better if there had been more warning. "So we put in an official protest, if you like, that more notice should have been given if this activity was to occur," he said. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-25/virgin-airlines-alerted-chinese-live-fire/104977032 Man removes shoes, climbs onto airplane wing at Las Vegas airport (video) A gentleman's creative approach to air travel was cut short at Las Vegas's McCarran International Airport when police interrupted his attempt to claim a spot on an aircraft's wing. A video of the incident shows the man scaling the wing of a commercial aircraft preparing for departure. In what appeared to be a nod to proper climbing technique, he removed his shoes and socks to improve traction. His ascent attempt came to an abrupt conclusion when, while attempting to reach the winglet, two police officers walked onto the wing in an attempt to persuade him to consider a safer alternative to air travel than clinging to the outside of the plane at 35,000 feet. Unfortunately, the arrival of the cops broke the wing-walker's concentration and he fell to the tarmac, where officers on the ground ran to his assistance. "We were just about to start takeoff when the pilot noticed him running towards the plane," one passenger reported on Reddit. "Good thing he shut down the engines quickly." The unorthodox boarding attempt resulted in a delay as maintenance crews conducted mandatory inspections of the aircraft. Police took the creative thinker into custody. https://boingboing.net/2025/02/24/man-removes-shoes-climbs-onto-airplane-wing-at-las-vegas-airport-video.html Airplane bound for Okinawa returns to airport after blast sounds heard from engine area A Korean Jin Air airplane bound for Japan's Okinawa returned to its departure airport in Busan nearly 1.5 hours after takeoff Tuesday, following blast sounds heard from its engine area during departure, officials said. Loud sounds were heard by passengers when Jin Air flight LJ371 took off from Gimhae International Airport in Busan, about 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 8:39 a.m. The plane decided to return to the airport but had to circle over nearby Geoje Island to burn fuel due to weight limits for landing planes. The plane reached the departure point at 9:56 a.m., an hour and 17 minutes after takeoff. Passengers aboard the flight testified that they heard blasting sounds from the engine area multiple times during takeoff, with some claiming to have seen flames near a wing mid-air. A Jin Air official confirmed that sounds were detected near the engine during takeoff. Although no technical issues were confirmed, the company decided to call the plane back for the safety of passengers, the official said. No injuries were reported among the passengers in connection with the incident. The airline said a replacement airplane will be mobilized to resume service on the affected air route. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2025/02/113_392961.html Japan's ANA to buy at least 77 aircraft from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's ANA Holdings said on Tuesday it would spend about 2.1 trillion yen ($14 billion) to purchase at least 77 aircraft to replenish its fleet. ANA plans to acquire 30 aircraft from Boeing, 27 from Airbus aircraft and 20 from, it said in a news release. The planes are due to be delivered between fiscal 2028 and 2033. ($1 = 149.3300 yen) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/japans-ana-buy-least-77-090153365.html Air Premia Enhances Flight Safety with IATA Turbulence Aware Air Premia to Adopt IATA Turbulence Aware Starting March 1, 2025 Real-Time Turbulence Data to Enhance Safety and Passenger Comfort SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Premia (CEO Kim Jae-hyun, Yoo Myung-sub) announced today that it will introduce IATA Turbulence Aware, a cutting-edge safety tool developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), starting on March 1, 2025. This advanced system leverages real-time in-situ turbulence reports to enhance flight safety and passenger comfort. As of the end of last year, more than 25 airlines worldwide were contributing and utilizing Turbulence Aware data across more than 2,600 aircraft. By accessing real-time turbulence information, Air Premia's flight crews will be better equipped to avoid or mitigate the effects of turbulence, ensuring safer and smoother flights. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, airlines experienced 14,802 turbulence encounters in the first half of 2024, marking a 78% increase compared to five years ago. By adopting Turbulence Aware, Air Premia can shift from a forecast-based response to a real-time response, thereby improving its ability to secure safer flight paths. The implementation of Turbulence Aware will enable Air Premia to effectively respond to Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) in airspace where turbulence was not predicted, and to adjust flight operations when predicted turbulence does not occur, reducing safety incidents for both passengers and crew. In addition to joining the platform, Air Premia is committed to safety by sharing turbulence information in pre-flight briefings with flight and cabin crew, adjusting service timings for passengers, and introducing GE Aerospace's flight data monitoring system, 'Safety Insight,' to identify and manage potential risks during flights. Koh Yoon Beom, Director of Safety & Security Division at Air Premia, stated, "By adopting IATA Turbulence Aware, we can strengthen customer trust and enhance our safety image. We are dedicated to providing a safe and comfortable flying experience for our passengers." Dr. Xie Xingquan, IATA's Regional Vice President for North Asia and Asia Pacific (ad interim) said: "We welcome the participation of Air Premia in Turbulence Aware. Making use of accurate and up-to-date data in Turbulence Aware helps flight crews' efforts to avoid or at least mitigate the effects of turbulence. The quality of this data improves with each new contributing airline. Air Premia's contribution will help the industry improve the safety and comfort of crew and passengers alike." About Air Premia Air Premia is Korea's only Hybrid Service Carrier (HSC), offering high-quality services at reasonable prices based on its unique philosophy of providing essential premium services. SOURCE Air Premia https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/air-premia-enhances-flight-safety-with-iata-turbulence-aware-302382929.html Delhi HC Increases Rest to 48 Hours for Indian Pilots DELHI – The Delhi High Court has ruled that airlines must increase pilots’ weekly rest from 36 to 48 hours starting July 1, 2025. The decision follows a prolonged delay in implementing new duty and rest regulations introduced by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This rule, originally announced in January 2024, was postponed due to objections from the airlines. However, after multiple rounds of court-ordered mediation, the High Court has now set firm deadlines for their enforcement. Under the new regulations, pilots must receive a continuous 48-hour weekly rest period, ensuring that no more than 168 hours (seven days) pass between the end of one rest period and the start of the next. This represents a significant increase from the current 36-hour rest period. Additionally, airlines will be entitled to submit quarterly reports to the DGCA detailing pilot fatigue complaints and the actions taken to address them. Night Duty Restrictions Coming in November While most of the new norms will take effect in July, the court has delayed the implementation of stricter night duty limitations until November 1, 2025. These restrictions include the following. • Redefining night duty to cover flights between midnight and 6 a.m. instead of the current midnight to 5 a.m. • Limiting pilots to no more than two consecutive night shifts. • Reducing maximum night flight time to eight hours, with a total duty period (including pre-and post-flight tasks) capped at ten hours. • Restricting the number of landings during night duty to two per shift. • Moreover, an additional 24-hour rest period after two consecutive ultra-long-haul flights, such as those to the U.S., was also included in the original DGCA proposal. However, its implementation has been postponed to November, giving airlines more time to adjust their scheduling. New Limits on Duty Extensions in Emergencies Beyond scheduling changes, the High Court has also imposed stricter limits on pilot duty extensions in unforeseen circumstances such as bad weather or medical emergencies. Previously, airlines could extend pilot duty beyond the standard 13-hour limit and flight time beyond ten hours, with a maximum overrun of three hours. However, under the new rules: The allowable duty overrun is reduced from three hours to two. Pilots must receive longer rest periods following extended duty hours. As a whole, these regulatory changes follow legal action taken by several pilot unions, including the Federation of Indian Pilots, the Indian Pilots’ Guild, and the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association. The unions petitioned the court in May 2024, arguing that delaying the new DGCA regulations put flight safety at risk by failing to address pilot fatigue. https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/2025/02/25/delhi-hc-increases-rest-to-48-hours-for-indian-pilots/#google_vignette Delta Airlines Flight Diverted to Yakima Airport Yakima, Wash. — A Delta Airlines flight bound for Portland was diverted to Yakima airport earlier today after high winds in Western Washington made landing unsafe. While diversions to Yakima are common due to its role as the primary diversion site, the pilot opted to land there rather than continue to Portland, where winds were forecast to gust up to 60 miles per hour. Yakima Airport Director Robert Hodgman reassured the public, saying, “The airline industry is hypervigilant on safety, and this is a good example of that.” Unfortunately, due to the pilots reaching the end of their duty day, passengers were deplaned, and the plane will remain at Yakima Airport overnight. The original crew will fly the plane out tomorrow. https://kimatv.com/news/local/delta-airlines-flight-diverted-to-yakima-airport New EU sanctions target airlines operating domestic flights in Russia Feb 24 (Reuters) - The European Union's latest sanctions against Moscow include a ban on third-country airlines flying to the 27-nation bloc if they carry out domestic flights in Russia, the European Commission said, opens new tab on Monday. The EU's 16th sanctions package against Russia includes a ban on primary aluminium imports and the sale of gaming consoles, while also listing a cryptocurrency exchange and dozens of vessels of the so-called shadow fleet used to evade sanctions. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/new-eu-sanctions-target-airlines-operating-domestic-flights-russia-2025-02-24/ Smoke Diverts Two Delta Flights Slides were used to evacuate a Boeing 717 in Atlanta. For the second time in less than a week, Delta flights have been diverted because of smoke in the cabin. The most recent was Monday when a Boeing 717 on its way to Columbia, South Carolina, turned around almost immediately and landed back in Atlanta. The plane was evacuated on the runway with emergency slides and there were no serious injuries. Social media posts showed a thick haze in the cabin with passengers covering their mouths with sweater collars. On Saturday, a Delta A350-900 returned to Los Angeles after flight attendants reported smoke coming from the rear galley as the plane was climbing out on its way to Sydney, Australia. By the time the plane landed (28 minutes after takeoff) the smoke was gone. The 162 passengers got a ride on another flight and the A350 was sent to Delta's Atlanta base to be checked. It was back in service Monday. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/smoke-diverts-two-delta-flights/ 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 · . Flight Safety Foundation - Aviation Safety Forum June 5-6, 2025 - Brussels . . 2025 EASA-FAA International Aviation Safety Conference, 10 Jun 2025 to 12 Jun 2025, Cologne, Germany · · The 9th Shanghai International Aerospace Technology and Equipment Exposition 2025; June 11 to 13, 2025 · . ISASI ANNUAL SEMINAR 2025'September 29, 2025 – October 3, 2025, DENVER, COLORADO . . 29th annual Bombardier Safety Standdown, November 11-13, 2025; Wichita, Kansas · . CHC Safety & Quality Summit, 11th – 13th November 2025, Vancouver, BC Canada Curt Lewis