Flight Safety Information October 27, 2015 - No. 213 In This Issue Aviation safety vs the "prosecutorial imperative" EASA unconvinced by Crimea routes safety case Airline Safety Alerting System Created After MH17 Tragedy Seen as Lagging Marines: Faulty filter cover, pilot error caused crash Comair Jet's Landing Gear Collapses at Johannesburg Airport U.S. DOT Bans E-Cigarettes in Aircraft Checked Baggage Airlines Work Together To Declare War On Cyber Attackers PROS 2015 TRAINING Stop By and Visit At NBAA - Booth N812 Curacao to deploy space-based ADS-B from Aireon to increase aviation safety, efficiency Ethiopian Airlines Eyes Asian Market With Chinese Crew Airplane parts company to expand, add 200 jobs in Wichita Neptune Aviation gets contracts for 4 'Next Generation' firebombers US Air Force Orders 28 More C-130 Hercules Aircraft GAMA welcomes electric/hybrid aircraft Japan to purchase US-made refueling aircraft Canada's F-35 Decision Poised To Shake Up Fighter Jet Market SAVE THE DATE...ISASI-2016 GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY REQUEST (1) Upcoming Events JOBS AVAILABLE (New Positions) Aviation safety vs the "prosecutorial imperative". Indiscriminate prosecutions erode safety culture This report contains extensive extracts from the Keynote Remarks of Jeff Shane, IATA General Counsel, to the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association Aviation and Space Law Committee National Program, in Washington, DC on 22-Oct-2015. Mr Shane addresses a key area of concern to those dedicated to applying lessons learned from airline accidents in the cause of improving air safety. Major improvements in safety management have come with the advent of voluntary reporting systems, dating back to the 1970s. Mr Shane recounts that these systems have been encouraged by regulators in a number of countries as part of a non-punitive, "just culture" approach to safety regulation. There is an emerging consensus among regulators and airlines alike that a "just culture" approach yields greater benefits than a regime characterized by enforcement penalties. Essential to the success of such systems is that the information furnished through such systems be held in strict confidence. However, Mr Shane was concerned at a persistent "prosecutorial imperative" - that judges, prosecutors, and trial lawyers often seek access to this material and, "in a growing number of cases, they have succeeded." If this trend were to continue, says Mr Shane, "the essential flow of safety information would simply dry up" as those with valuable knowledge fear the legal consequences of sharing information. About the intersection between law and the safety of air travel 2015 is turning out to be a record year for the airline industry. Speaking a couple of days ago at IATA's World Passenger Symposium in Hamburg, our Director General, Tony Tyler - my boss - announced that for 2015, we expect an industry net profit of $29.3 billion on revenues of $727 billion, for a net profit margin of 4 percent, generating a return on invested capital of 7.5 percent. For the first time, we actually expect the industry on average to create value for its investors. It's hardly a robust performance compared to other industries -- Apple earned $13.6 billion in the second quarter of this year alone for a 23.4 percent margin -- but for the airline industry, 4 percent is something to celebrate. But my theme today isn't the quest for elusive profits in commercial aviation. I want to talk instead about the intersection between law and the safety of air travel, with a focus on some interesting recent developments. Safety Information Protection - and learning from accidents A good way to start the discussion might be by reference to the Montreal Convention of 1999. My guess is that the people in this room know better than anyone what things were like before that treaty came into force. Under the old Warsaw/Hague regime, airlines had strict liability for mishaps, but the victims of an accident were entitled to no more than some absurdly low recovery amount, depending on the jurisdiction in which they were eligible to sue. Even in the United States, where airlines were compelled by regulators to increase the damages available through the treaty, the maximum recovery was $75,000 per passenger. The only way claimants could break those limits was to prove in court that the carrier had been guilty of "willful misconduct" - a gross negligence, reckless endangerment test that engendered many years of costly litigation that was excruciating for claimants and defendants alike.By the mid-'90s, the airline industry had had enough. In 1996, through inter-carrier agreements brokered by IATA and the Air Transport Association of America - today's A4A - the airlines waived the liability limits of Warsaw/Hague. The Montreal Convention of 1999 effectively ratified that waiver. Today, strict liability is still the centerpiece of the regime, but unless the airline can prove that the accident was not due to its own negligence - in other words, prove that it took all available measures to prevent the accident -- claimants are entitled to recover all provable economic damages. The net result is that, as long as a claim falls under MC99, there is no longer any reason to spend years fighting in court over whether the airline was guilty of "willful misconduct." Even in the very rare case where the airline successfully asserts the non-negligence defense, claimants are entitled to 113,100 special drawing rights, or about US$160,000 at current conversion rates.The Montreal Convention made the recovery process more humane, to be sure. But it had an even more important benefit. I know that the plaintiffs' bar prides itself on using the evidentiary tools available in a trial to tease out important facts that might otherwise have gone undiscovered. Thanks to the Montreal Convention of 1999, the litigation-driven incentive to construe the facts in ways most beneficial to one side or the other have largely gone away. But we lawyers have a professional responsibility to construe those facts in ways most beneficial to our clients. Fact-finding thus can take a back seat to advocacy. Thanks to the Montreal Convention of 1999, the litigation-driven incentive to construe the facts in ways most beneficial to one side or the other have largely gone away. After all, every accident, however regrettable, represents an opportunity to make flying safer, as long as we can find out what actually happened. We can say, thanks to these important developments in civil litigation over the past 20 years, that we now have a much better chance of exploiting that opportunity fully. You should know that since 1996, when the airlines first waived the limits of liability under Warsaw, the fatal accident rate in commercial aviation has steadily declined. In fact, 2014 was the safest year we have ever had. Jet-hull loss per million sectors flown in 2014 was 0.23, the lowest on record. Whether or not you believe that the elimination of "willful misconduct" trials was a factor in that steady decline in accidents, at least we know that the reduction in such litigation had no adverse safety consequences. The Prosecutorial Imperative vs. "Just Culture" But there's another worrisome impediment to learning from occasional mistakes. It is what I will call the prosecutorial imperative. In too many jurisdictions, the instinct is to treat every accident as a possible crime. There is immediate tension between the technical accident investigators who simply want to find out what happened in the interest of making sure it doesn't happen again, and the criminal investigators who want to determine whether the accident was attributable to culpable conduct and if so to punish that conduct. I don't have to tell you what happens when the gendarmes put yellow tape around the scene of an accident and start quizzing witnesses. Those closest to the event and with the most valuable information hire lawyers and are warned that anything they say may be used against them. Getting the facts becomes much harder. the prosecutorial imperative can compromise in a fundamental way the over-arching safety ethic Even more worrying is that the prosecutorial imperative can compromise in a fundamental way the over- arching safety ethic that has been so successfully embedded in the DNA of the aviation industry. I'm talking about the "just culture" approach that is widely treated within the industry as a sine qua non to optimal safety performance. The idea dates back to the 1970s, when the first voluntary reporting systems were established. It is a simple concept: Companies and their employees are encouraged to report voluntarily any defect, any anomaly, any departure from the norm, anything that might compromise the safety of flight. The information and its source are held in strict confidence. And no punishment follows - either of the employee or of the company. No protection is accorded to criminal activity, of course, but short of that, the information remains sacrosanct. The great thing about the just culture approach is not merely that it produces timely information that can save lives, but that the information is widely shared among those who can benefit from it. There are searchable online databases containing massive amounts of vitally important safety-related information. With today's sophisticated analysis and artificial intelligence, it is possible to predict incipient dangerous conditions and remedy them well in advance of an actual system failure. An Emerging Consensus: deficiencies are best addressed by a "just culture" approach The value of just culture has been widely acknowledged by regulatory authorities. The FAA last June issued a new "compliance philosophy" (FAA Order 8000.373, June 26, 2015) that places new emphasis on non- punitive means of rectifying deviations from regulatory requirements when disclosed. Noting that some deviations arise from factors like flawed procedures, simple mistakes, lack of understanding, or diminished skills, the FAA believes that such deficiencies "can most effectively be corrected through root cause analysis and training, education or other appropriate improvements to procedures or training programs for regulated entities...." In other words, not through the imposition of penalties. The objective, quite clearly, is to encourage more voluntary reporting in the interest of ensuring that the safety management systems required of all airlines are working optimally. "CASA embraces, and encourages the development throughout the aviation community of, a 'just culture,' in which people are not punished for actions, omissions, or decisions taken by them that are commensurate with their experience, qualifications and training." Just last month Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority issued a new statement of regulatory philosophy that even more explicitly embraced the just culture approach. The agency wrote: "CASA embraces, and encourages the development throughout the aviation community of, a 'just culture,' in which people are not punished for actions, omissions, or decisions taken by them that are commensurate with their experience, qualifications and training." Earlier this month, the European Commission convened a meeting in Brussels to introduce a "European Corporate Just Culture Declaration." The Declaration said: "It is acknowledged that, in an operational aviation industry environment, individuals, despite their training, expertise, experience, abilities and good will, may be faced with situations where the limits of human performance combined with unwanted and unpredictable systemic influences may lead to an undesirable outcome." There's a bumper sticker that makes the same point in fewer words. It can be paraphrased as "Stuff happens." The declaration then continues: "Analysis of reported occurrences by organisations should focus on system performance and contributing factors first and not on apportioning blame and/or focus on individual responsibilities...." Very clearly, there is an emerging consensus -- among regulatory agencies and the industry -- that encouraging voluntary disclosure of safety information is in everyone's interest, and that the best way to do so is to apply non-punitive remedies to deficiencies that are voluntarily disclosed. ICAO and Protection at the Global Level we have seen too many cases in recent years in which judges, prosecutors, and plaintiffs' attorneys have sought access to this vitally important safety information. Despite this consensus, however, we have seen too many cases in recent years in which judges, prosecutors, and plaintiffs' attorneys have sought access to this vitally important safety information. In a growing number of instances, they have succeeded. If that trend were to continue, you can be assured that the essential flow of safety information would simply dry up. This danger is increasingly understood and it's now an issue that's being tackled globally, most importantly at ICAO. Five years ago, an ICAO High-level Safety Conference recommended the development of new guidance - what ICAO calls "Standards and Recommended Practices" or "SARPs" - to be included in a new annex to the Chicago Convention devoted to safety management. The annexes to the Convention, as you probably know, are where the high-level principles enunciated in the treaty are turned into more specific and granular guidance. They aren't self- executing; they have to be implemented through national laws and regulations in order to be effective, but that's generally what happens. It happens because the quality of a government's aviation safety oversight is measured by the extent to which it has implemented ICAO's SARPs and other guidance. The new SARPs envisioned five years ago were to spell out government responsibilities for the protection of safety information. The protection of information derived from accident investigations was already addressed to some extent in the accident investigation annex -- Annex 13. The new SARPs were intended to reinforce those protections and explicitly cover information reported via the safety management systems that are now a mandatory ingredient in airline operations - including, of course, the voluntary reporting I've been talking about. This new guidance will be included in the new safety management annex -- Annex 19. And lest there be any doubt, the protection contemplated is protection from prosecutors, judges, and yes, even trial lawyers. Some of the most important provisions can be found listed under new "Principles of protection" proposed for Annex 19. The first principle is that "States shall ensure that safety data or safety information is not used for: a) disciplinary, civil, administrative and criminal proceedings against employees operational personnel or organizations; b) disclosure to the public; or c) any purposes other than maintaining or improving safety; unless a principle of exception applies." The "principles of exception" are what you would expect - cases in which the conduct in question clearly crosses the line from an honest mistake into the area of reckless endangerment, gross negligence, willful misconduct, or whatever you want to call it -- conduct that would always be subject to prosecution under applicable national laws. But the overarching idea, simply put, is that penalizing honest mistakes merely impedes the flow of valuable safety information and thereby actually increases the risk profile of the aviation sector. ICAO is moving towards a basis for a standard global approach by end-2016 The new provisions were circulated to governments for a final review last July in something ICAO calls a "state letter." Any further comments from the governments were due a week ago, by October 15. The next step will be a review by ICAO's Air Navigation Commission with the intention of presenting the language to the ICAO Council - ICAO's governing body -- for final approval next March. Nobody expects to hear any dissent. The new provisions will then become effective in November of next year. There is still an open question as to when the new provisions will become applicable to governments - 2018 or 2020 are the options being discussed. As I indicated earlier, nothing in an ICAO annex is self- executing; to be effective and enforceable, the guidance has to be translated into national law by governments. My guess is that a great many governments won't wait for the new language to become effective but will start their legislative processes working even sooner. All of this is good news for the airlines, of course, but it is even better news for their customers - including you and me. Aviation is already the safest mode of transportation, and by a wide measure. But air traffic is predicted to double over the course of the next 20 years. That means that we have an obligation to do all we can to make the remarkable safety management systems we rely upon today even better. The changes in law that I've discussed will be an essential element in that improvement. http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/aviation-safety-vs-the-prosecutorial-imperative--indiscriminate- prosecutions-erode-safety-culture-250017 Back to Top EASA unconvinced by Crimea routes safety case European authorities are maintaining advice to avoid Crimean airspace, after failing to be convinced by a Ukrainian safety case intended to make additional routes available to carriers. Ukraine's state aviation administration issued a circular in late August declaring four routes within the Simferopol flight information region were "available" for civil aircraft operations. But the European Aviation Safety Agency says it has reviewed the safety case provided by Ukraine, on which this declaration has been based, and discovered "conflicting" information. It points out that an aeronautical circular published by the Russian federal air transport authority claims that the four routes are under control of the Simferopol air traffic centre. Although Ukraine is the only internationally-recognised provider of air navigation services in the Simferopol FIR, the annexation of Crimea by Russia - and its assumption of air traffic control operations - has resulted in strong concerns over air safety in the region. EASA has concluded that "there is not yet enough evidence" that all risks to safety have been "adequately mitigated", despite the Ukrainian circular. It notes that there is an absence of co-ordination mechanisms between Ukraine and Russia for provision of air traffic services in the region. EASA is recommending that carriers "continue avoiding" the airspace and circumnavigate the Simferopol FIR until further notice. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/easa-unconvinced-by-crimea-routes-safety-case-418187/ Back to Top Airline Safety Alerting System Created After MH17 Tragedy Seen as Lagging Officials say government concerns about information are still trumping security considerations The reconstructed wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is seen after the presentation of the final report into the crash on Oct. 13. MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian-made Buk missile, the Dutch Safety Board said. By ROBERT WALL DUBLIN-A global system to share information about threats to commercial airline flights established after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is still not robust enough, say airline regulators and industry officials, with government concerns about information still trumping security considerations. The International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations' air safety arm, set up an information clearing house for governments to provide possible threat information to flights after a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over a war zone in eastern Ukraine in July 2014. ICAO's Conflict Zone Information Repository, which came online in April, is intended to help airlines make decisions about where not to fly. But providing useful information needs to be done "a bit faster," Tony Tyler, director general of the International Air Transport Association that represents more than 200 carriers told reporters on Monday. "Within the security areas of government there is a natural reluctance to share," he said. However, he added, "what's the point of having this information if it is not passed on." Aviation officials have become more sensitive about flights in conflict zones after the downing of the Malaysia Airline jetliner, which Dutch crash investigators said was struck by a sophisticated, Buk antiaircraft missile. All 298 people onboard the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur died. The Boeing Co. 777 jetliner was cruising at 33,000 feet in airspace the Ukrainian government had declared safe even after some military aircraft were brought down at lower altitudes during intense fighting between the country's armed forces and pro-Russian separatists. The Dutch safety board called for governments to be more active in reporting on threats and urged other countries also to alert carriers in case they see a threat outside their own borders. "We know we need to refine the capabilities of the repository," Stephen Creamer, director of ICAO's Air Navigation Bureau told an aviation security conference here. The information in the online database is often delayed. It can take 72 hours or more for recommendations made by one member state about airspace in another country to become public, he said. In the aftermath of the crash of the Malaysia Airlines plane, some airspace is now regularly avoided by carriers as regulators have issued warnings about airspace in conflict zones. Flight routes between the Middle East and Europe have largely shifted from Iraqi airspace to traversing Iran. Many airlines also are avoiding Syrian airspace because of the fighting in the country. About a half-dozen countries have so far provided information to ICAO for use in the database to alert about potential risks, Mr. Creamer said. Eurocontrol, which manages European airspace, also established an information sharing tool and is now trying to make it easier to use, said Joe Sultana, the organization's director of network management. Still, he said it was unclear how effective the new tools are in helping airlines make decisions on what airspace is safe to use. Concerns about risks to flights were reinforced this month when Russia fired cruise missiles against targets in Syria. The missile traversed Iranian airspace in the vicinity of commercial airplanes without prior warning. Air safety regulators issued alerts to airlines about the event and some carriers changed their routes. IATA's Mr. Tyler also called for government to spell out rules that would ensure tighter control of weapons that could pose a threat to commercial airlines. He has called for the establishment of a regime similar to those in place to block the proliferation of nuclear weapons or limit the use of land mines. Mr. Sultana said regulators are also grappling with another problem, determining when is it acceptable to label airspace safe again once it has been shut down. "It is very difficult to reopen an airspace," he said. Experts are currently discussing with Ukraine the safety case for reopening some routes in the region. http://www.wsj.com/articles/airline-safety-alerting-system-created-after-mh17-tragedy-seen-as-lagging- 1445876795 Back to Top Marines: Faulty filter cover, pilot error caused crash After falling vertically and slamming into the ground right-side-up, the aircraft rolled to its right side. Members of Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1, working in a hangar about 1,000 feet away, ran to the site and pulled Kealey and Satterfield from the wreckage. Two Marine pilots killed in a January helicopter crash in California were just a few hundred yards from their destination when the transmission of their aircraft seized, stopping its main rotor and causing it to plummet, according to a lengthy investigation into the crash. Improper aircraft maintenance and pilot misjudgment contributed to the fatal Jan. 23 UH-1Y Venom helicopter crash near Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, investigators wrote in the accident report. The report was obtained by Marine Corps Times through a Freedom of Information Act request. The pilot, Maj. Elizabeth Kealey, and co-pilot, Capt. Adam Satterfield, were killed in the crash. Both were assigned to Marine Light Attack Squadron 169, and were concluding a short flight from Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, their home base, to participate in an exercise with the rest of their squadron. Kealey was a captain at the time and Satterfield a first lieutenant - the pair was posthumously promoted during a February ceremony. At the heart of the tragedy was an improperly installed filter cover, which allowed the transmission to dump all its oil during flight. Ultimately, investigators found that the aircraft plummeted 200 feet, just 400 yards away from the Marines' intended landing point. Investigators would find that a confluence of missteps, oversights and miscalculations led to the fatal accident, but stopped short of finding wrongdoing. Maj. Gen. Michael Rocco, the commanding general of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, wrote in his endorsement of the investigation that the deaths of Kealey and Satterfield were "in the line of duty and were not due to their own misconduct." Sensor troubles About 34 minutes into the 49-minute flight, the pilots noticed that their oil pressure gauge fluctuated and then plummeted to zero. While the warning lights typically indicate an emergency, the pilots likely assumed the problem was due to a faulty gauge, not actual fluid loss, because of recent maintenance issues. About a week prior, their aircraft had undergone maintenance because of a faulty reading, which included replacing oil pressure sensors. With Twentynine Palms more than 15 minutes away, the pilots decided to continue flying. They passed two airports where they could have landed safely before the transmission froze, the investigators found. "The [pilots] chose not to divert to either Palm Springs or Yucca Valley airports, both of which would have put them on the deck in about six to seven minutes after initial indications of loss of [main rotor gear box] oil pressure," the investigator wrote. "This would have provided them eight to nine minutes of time remaining until the designed failure limit ... was reached." Instead of putting the aircraft down, they calmly called to have avionics troubleshooters standing by on the flight line. "This is indicative of a pilot who thinks they have an instrument indication problem, not one that has a full- blown emergency on their hands," the investigating officer wrote. According to Navy aviation publications, zero oil pressure should trigger pilots to execute "impending [main rotor gear box] failure procedures," under the assumption that the aircraft will soon become inoperable. That means landing as soon as possible. "Loss of MRGB oil pressure will render the helicopter unflyable within 15 minutes," the aircraft's Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization manual states. "The [Marine aircraft commander's] decision to continue on to Twentynine Palms, which was over 15 minutes away, was directly causal to this mishap." the investigating officer wrote. "...I believe the fact that the [Marine aircraft] had recently had the MRGB pressure sensor and packing on the pressure transducer replaced in the days prior to the [Marine flight] greatly influenced this decision." A maintenance error A new filter cover improperly installed three days before Kealey and Satterfield were killed leaked or came off in flight. The root cause of the trouble with the filter was a maintenance error made long before the accident. The filter housing must be uninstalled to change the filter. But at some point, an unapproved epoxy was used to seal the filter body, preventing Marines from removing it. As a result, three waivers were issued over months to forgo a filter change. It was deemed unlikely that the filter was dirty, an assumption supported by the post-crash investigation, meaning the filter itself was not a contributing factor. However, during one failed attempt to change the filter while it was still installed in the aircraft, the cover was damaged. That required that a new one be installed on Jan. 20. Three Marines worked to accomplish the task, which was later inspected and approved by a superior. But because the filter housing was contained in a small space, they did not realize that a retaining ring that holds the cover on was not seated properly. That ultimately led to massive fluid loss during flight. After falling vertically and slamming into the ground right-side-up, the aircraft rolled to its right side. Members of Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1, who were working in a hangar about 1,000 feet away, sprang into action. They pulled Satterfield from the aircraft. A Marine, whose name was redacted, directed others to try to put out a 3- to 4-foot fire when he noticed Kealey was still in the helo. They extracted her. The same Marine then noticed Satterfield was not being tended to in the chaos, so moved to aid him. They cleared his airway, got him onto a backboard and cut away clothing to check for additional injuries. The continued to aid the pilots until medical personnel arrived on scene. Kealey was transported to the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs and passed away 45 minutes later during surgery. Satterfield was transported to Naval Hospital Twentynine Palms where he died in the emergency room an hour later. Both died of "multiple blunt force trauma." The seats in their helicopter worked as designed to absorb the impact, but the fall was too far for them to be effective, according to the investigation. Ultimately, investigators found "oversights in judgment in various areas that do need to be addressed through mentoring and leadership," however they did not find any negligence. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/10/26/marines-faulty-filter-cover-pilot-error- caused-crash/74662072/ Back to Top Comair Jet's Landing Gear Collapses at Johannesburg Airport The landing gear of a British Airways flight operated by Comair Ltd. collapsed shortly after touching down at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport on Monday, the airline said. No one was injured. "The flight landed normally and after about four seconds of braking the left landing gear collapsed and the aircraft settled on its left engine," Comair Chief Executive Officer Erik Venter said by text message. The airline will investigate the cause, he said. Flight BA6234 from Port Elizabeth "with six crew and 94 passengers on board, was involved in an incident on landing at O.R. Tambo just after 12 p.m. today," Airports Company South Africa said on its Twitter account earlier. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-400, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. Comair operates British Airways-branded flights under a franchise agreement. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-26/comair-operated-flight-in-emergency-landing-at- or-tambo-airport *************** Status: Preliminary Date: Monday 26 October 2015 Time: ca 12:00 Type: Boeing 737-4L7 Operating for: British Airways Leased from: Comair Registration: ZS-OAA C/n / msn: 26960/2483 First flight: 1993-05-23 (22 years 5 months) Engines: 2 CFMI CFM56-3C1 Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 94 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 100 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Johannesburg-O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) ( South Africa) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Port Elizabeth Airport (PLZ/FAPE), South Africa Destination airport: Johannesburg-O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB/FAOR), South Africa Flightnumber: BA6234 Narrative: A Boeing 737-400, operated by Comair on behalf of British Airways, sustained severe damage in a landing accident at Johannesburg-OR Tambo Airport (JNB/FAOR), South Africa. There were 94 passengers and six crew members on board. Upon landing on runway 03R the left hand main landing gear collapsed. The aircraft skidded on the left engine nacelle and wingtip before coming to rest on the runway. According to the OR Tambo Airport, the aircraft involved was flight BA6234 from Port Elizabeth. According to Flightradar24 this flight was carried out by ZS-OAA. The runway was temporarily closed after the accident: RWY 03R/21L CLSD. 26 OCT 11:04 2015 UNTIL 26 OCT 14:00 2015 ESTIMATED. CREATED: 26 OCT 11:04 2015 http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20151026-0 Back to Top U.S. DOT Bans E-Cigarettes in Aircraft Checked Baggage Passengers may have them in carry-on bags or on person, but may not use them on flights WASHINGTON-- The U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has issued an interim final rule (IFR) to prohibit passengers and crewmembers from carrying battery-powered portable electronic smoking devices (e-cigarettes, e-cigs, e-cigars, e-pipes, personal vaporizers, electronic nicotine delivery systems) in checked baggage and prohibit passengers and crewmembers from charging the devices or batteries on board the aircraft. "We know from recent incidents that e-cigarettes in checked bags can catch fire during transport," said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Fire hazards in flight are particularly dangerous. Banning e- cigarettes from checked bags is a prudent safety measure." On Jan. 22, 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Safety Alert for Operators recommending that air carriers require their passengers to carry e-cigarettes and related devices exclusively in the cabin of the aircraft. Also, on June 9, 2015, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) published an addendum to the 2015-2016 ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air prohibiting the carriage of e-cigarettes in checked baggage and restricting the charging of these devices while on board the aircraft. "The importance of the safety of the flying public provides good cause for our issuing an IFR," said PHMSA Administrator Marie Therese Dominguez. "E-cigarettes in checked bags present a safety risk because they are capable of generating extreme heat, which could lead to a fire on board the aircraft." Passengers may continue to carry e-cigarettes for personal use in carry-on baggage or on their person but may not use them on flights. The Department's current regulatory ban on smoking of tobacco products on passenger flights includes the use of e-cigarettes. Nevertheless, to prevent passenger or crewmember confusion, the department has proposed to amend its existing airline smoking rule to explicitly ban use of e-cigarettes aboard aircraft. The IFR does not prohibit a passenger from carrying other devices containing batteries for personal use (such as laptop computers, cell phones, cameras, etc.) in checked or carry-on baggage, nor does it restrict a passenger from transporting batteries for personal use in carry-on baggage. The IFR is effective seven days after publication in The Federal Register. Click here for a copy of the IFR. The PHMSA develops and enforces regulations for the safe, reliable and environmentally sound operation of the nation's 2.6 million mile pipeline transportation system and the nearly one million daily shipments of hazardous materials by land, sea and air. http://www.cspnet.com/category-news/tobacco/articles/us-dot-bans-e-cigarettes-aircraft-checked- baggage Back to Top Airlines Work Together To Declare War On Cyber Attackers "Protecting our industry from cyber threats is hard, probably one of the hardest things we are facing because we do not know what we are facing or for what we have to prepare." The aviation industry is stepping up efforts to enlist coordinated international support in the battle against the threats posed to airlines and passengers by hackers and those seeking to exploit IT systems. The security of commercial airlines and whether the systems crucial to fly planes are vulnerable to cyber attacks hit the headlines in April after a security researcher claimed that he had been able to hack into flight controls via his underseat entertainment unit. Along with Wi-Fi and electronics on board, airlines, airports and air traffic management companies are sharing more information than ever before to make flying more efficient and deal with increasing numbers of passengers. But that provides more interfaces that can be exploited by attackers, aviation industry representatives said at the AVSEC World aviation security conference in Dublin on Monday. Those seeking to do mischief also know that attacking an airline will guarantee maximum impact, they said. Airlines are sharing more information than ever before to make flying more efficient and deal with increasing numbers of passengers. As part of initiatives to shore up the industry's defenses, a team has been put together by leading aviation industry associations to work on a declaration on cyber security to put to members of the United Nations' aviation safety arm next year. One of the issues being looked at, for example, is the security of the ADS-B system on aircraft, which sends information on a plane's position. The data is unencrypted, which could make it susceptible to outside interference. "Protecting our industry from cyber threats is hard, probably one of the hardest things we are facing because we do not know what we are facing or for what we have to prepare," said Jeff Poole, director general of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO), highlighting the swiftness with which the threat is changing. UNITED NATIONS Poole is part of the team coming up with recommendations that will be presented to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) next September, when the U.N. body holds its regular triennial meeting. It will then be up to ICAO member states whether to sign the declaration or not, though this would not impose any mandatory standards. A team has been formed to draft industry-wide recommendations that will be presented to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) next September. Jim Marriott, the ICAO's deputy director aviation security and facilitation, said that signing a declaration would be a statement from member states that they are taking the issue seriously. States are also free to take action at a national level before then, he said. "We can only go so far ourselves as an industry. States have an important role to play," Poole said. Aircraft manufacturers can also do their bit, said Tony Tyler, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), particularly as they often have experience in the military sector. Boeing's director for aviation security, James Vasatka, told the conference that his company hires hackers to test the systems and software it puts on its planes. "They (the hackers) are absolutely stunned at the quality we put in our software and products. It would be very difficult in today's environment to disrupt that for the flight-critical systems," he said. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/airlines-work-together-to-declare-war-on-cyber- attackers_562e7473e4b00aa54a4a9896 Back to Top Back to Top Stop By and Visit At NBAA DATE Nov. 17 - 19, 2015 LOCATION Booth N812 Las Vegas Convention Center 3150 Paradise Rd. Las Vegas, NV 89109 Back to Top Curacao to deploy space-based ADS-B from Aireon to increase aviation safety, efficiency MCLEAN, Va., 21 Oct. 2015. Officials at the Dutch Caribbean Air Navigation Service Provider (DC-ANSP), the air traffic services provider for the Curaçao Flight Information Region (FIR), sought a reliable system with which to increase aviation safety and efficiency. They found their solution at Aireon LLC, developer of a space-based global air traffic surveillance system in McLean, Va. DC-ANSP officials signed a data-services agreement with Aireon to implement the company's global, space-based air traffic surveillance system for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipped aircraft. Through the agreement, DC-ANSP will in 2018 have 100 percent air traffic surveillance of the Curaçao FIR, which covers 300,000 square kilometers adjacent to Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Colombia - much of which is oceanic airspace containing critical routes between the United States, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Europe. This move helps to position DC-ANSP as a regional leader in aviation safety and efficiency, and enables greater flexibility over the cross-regional and intersecting routes it manages and facilitates seamless transitions between neighboring FIRs. "Aireon's space-based ADS-B is the future of air traffic surveillance by providing visibility over oceanic and remote regions - areas outside the range of traditional surveillance," says Micilia Albertus-Verboom, director general, Dutch Caribbean Air Navigation Service Provider (DC-ANSP). "Signing this agreement demonstrates DC-ANSP's commitment to the region to be a progressive air traffic services provider, and will allow us to provide enhanced services to our many commercial airspace users. It will be a landmark in collaboration with unprecedented data sharing to promote global air traffic surveillance and to solve the airspace monitoring challenges we have with current technology." "The data services agreement absolutely positions DC-ANSP as a regional leader. When the system is operational in 2018, the introduction of 100 percent air traffic surveillance in the Eastern part of the Curacao FIR will optimize busy routes operated by the major U.S., Caribbean, Latin American and European airlines," explains Don Thoma, president and CEO, Aireon. Aireon is deploying a global, space-based air traffic surveillance system for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipped aircraft over the entire globe. For the first time, Aireon will provide real-time ADS-B surveillance to oceanic, polar, and remote regions, as well as augment existing ground-based systems that are limited to terrestrial airspace. Aireon will harness next-generation aviation surveillance technologies and extend them globally to improve efficiency, enhance safety, reduce emissions, and provide cost savings benefits to all stakeholders, officials say. In partnership with leading ANSPs from around the world, NAV CANADA, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), ENAV, and Naviair, as well as Iridium Communications, Aireon will have an operational, global, space-based air traffic surveillance system by 2018. http://www.intelligent-aerospace.com/articles/2015/10/curacao-to-deploy-space-based-ads-b-from- aireon-to-increase-aviation-safety-efficiency.html Back to Top Ethiopian Airlines Eyes Asian Market With Chinese Crew Africa's most profitable airline, Ethiopian Airlines, has hired Chinese crew on all its flights to China in an effort to capture the Asian market, the carrier's chief executive told AFP. The Addis Ababa-based airline has recruited 30 Chinese and is currently training them at the Ethiopian Airlines Aviation Academy in preparation of their first in-flight experience in November. Tewolde Gebremariam, Ethiopian Airlines CEO, told AFP that company was focusing on China, its biggest market in Asia, before moving to other countries in the region. "90 percent of passengers flying to China don't speak English," Gebremariam said. "They don't understand the safety instructions." According to CAPA Aviation, East Asia has been the main driver of Ethiopian's rapid expansion in recent years - with two destinations added in 2015 for a total of nine - and will continue to be a focus as Africa's largest airline doubles its fleet over the next decade. Ethiopian Airlines is planning to launch services to Chengdu, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta and Singapore. China's presence in Africa has grown over the last decade as the Asian giant seek closer ties with the region to feed its growing industrial sector with raw material and other natural resources. In return the Beijing government has invested heavily in infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa, making it the largest trade and investment partner t most countries on the continent. Chinese community in Africa has also grown in tandem with the increased relations. Ethiopian Airlines, which made more profit that all other African carriers combined in 2014, boasts one of the largest fleet of planes in the region and ferried more than six million people last year. Gebremariam plans to make Ethiopian Airlines the primary carrier between Africa and Asia. "We're the best point of entry for the continent," Gebremariam said. "Addis is situated at the junction point between the emerging economies of Africa and Asia." http://afkinsider.com/105567/ethiopian-airlines-eyes-asian-markets-with-chinese- crew/#sthash.Hzkr74dd.dpuf Back to Top Airplane parts company to expand, add 200 jobs in Wichita WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A French-based airplane parts manufacturer has broken ground on a new addition as it prepares to move its North American headquarters to Wichita. Gov. Sam Brownback joined Figeac-Aero officials Friday for the groundbreaking on a 70,000- square-foot expansion and a new structure at its northeast Wichita manufacturing plant. It plans to hire 200 more workers in the next five years. The estimated project cost is more than $20 million. It is expected to be completed by 2016. In Wichita, the company manufactures parts for Airbus, Bombardier, Triumph, Gulfstream, Embraer and Spirit AeroSystems. The Wichita Eagle reports the city and Sedgwick County have each approved $250,000 loans to the company. The city also approved a five-year property tax abatement and industrial revenue bonds to abate sales taxes for the project. http://ksnt.com/2015/10/24/airplane-parts-company-to-expand-add-200-jobs-in-wichita/ Back to Top Neptune Aviation gets contracts for 4 'Next Generation' firebombers Neptune Aviation mechanic Jeffrey Mazure works on the fuel lines of a BAe-146 jet that the company is converting to a retardant bomber Monday at the company's hangar at Missoula International Airport. Neptune has received four five-year contracts from the U.S. Forest Service for exclusive use of four BAe- 146 retardant bombers for the agency's firefighting program. After five years of contract bidding, protests, challenges and re-bids, Neptune Aviation now has a solid footing in the U.S. Forest Service's fire aviation fleet. This fall, the Missoula-based company received four five-year contracts for exclusive use of four BAe-146 retardant bombers as part of the federal agency's "Next Generation" firefighting program. It also landed an agreement to transform up to 15 military surplus C-23B Sherpa planes into civilian smokejumper and cargo aircraft. "We're glad to have it resolved," Neptune President Ron Hooper said Monday. "Right now from the air tanker standpoint, things will be pretty stable for a while." The next-gen tanker contracts are worth about $5 million a year per plane. Neptune has been acquiring BAe passenger jets and remodeling them to carry 3,000-gallon retardant tanks for firefighting. It now has six of the jets, and is working on a seventh this fall. It also flies six P2-V propeller-driven tankers, some of which date back to the Korean War. Under the Forest Service's contract system, the six P2-Vs and one of the BAes are on "legacy" contracts for the next three years. Hooper said when that period is over, three of the older P2-Vs may be retired and the company may try to replace them with modern aircraft. It is also looking into contracting some of those planes with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which handles state wildfire protection Neptune will fly five BAe-146 jets for the Forest Service, plus a sixth that's on contract with the state of California. And it's about 80 percent finished transforming a seventh BAe that will serve as its "swing" plane, temporarily replacing others when firefighting gets busy. That involves removing all the seats and passenger services, installing a 3,000-gallon retardant tank and changing the computer and flying systems to handle the stress of aerial firebombing. Hooper said starting in 2017, the aircraft contracts will switch from six-day-a-week to seven-day formats. That will put extra pressure on flight and maintenance crews, as well as the aircraft. The swing plane and its crew will substitute in for other tankers that need to stand down for repairs or rest during active fire seasons. "For now, this is the plane of the future," Neptune marketing director Kevin Condit said. "It does a lot of things really well, delivering retardant low and slow and meeting the requirements of the Forest Service." *** The next-gen contracts were the Forest Service's response to a crisis that developed in the early 2000s when its fleet of aging tankers had a series of fatal crashes. Safety inspections grounded the whole fleet of heavy tankers for a couple of years. Even after modifications and reviews, the fleet shrunk from 44 planes in 2002 to eight in 2013 - most of which were Neptune's P2-Vs. In 2010, the Forest Service announced its request for new jet-powered planes that could carry at least 3,000 gallons of retardant and have a cruising speed of at least 350 mph. The P2-Vs carry about 1,500 gallons and can cruise at around 250 mph. Neptune applied for and won several contracts, but several competitors challenged the awards. The contracts and protests went through several reviews before the agency was able to release seven contracts this fall. Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management spokeswoman Jennifer Jones said this fall's awards came through unprotested, so the seven contracts should be in action next fire season. The Forest Service now has 14 privately owned large air tankers on exclusive-use contracts, and is bringing an additional seven U.S. Coast Guard surplus HC-130H transport planes into service over the next few years. The agency wants a fleet of between 18 and 28 modern, large air tankers. "(The C-130s) have a limited service life of six to 12 years, so we will continue to pursue acquisition of additional Next Generation air tankers through various means," Jones said. "Those means may include purchasing air tankers." Hooper said he's watching for 2017, when the legacy contracts expire and Forest Service may have an opportunity to issue more next-gen contracts. "We're anticipating another round of competition for at least seven large tankers," Hooper said. "They haven't formally announced that yet, but we expect they'll advertise fairly soon. And we have fairly quick access to aircraft. We'll continue to monitor that marketplace." During the last two weeks of August, lightning ignited more than 2,600 wildfires across public and private lands in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, northern Idaho and Montana. More than 2,400 of those wildfires were suppressed during initial attack, or within about 24 hours of being detected. Neptune planes flew about 2,200 hours of retardant missions in that period. So far in 2015, approximately 9.3 million acres of private, state and federal land have burned nationwide, making it one of the more destructive years since 1960. More than 4,400 structures were destroyed. The Forest Service has spent more than $1.7 billion on wildfire suppression. Neptune employs 185 people, nearly all of whom live in Missoula. It keeps a staff of 20 at a maintenance base in Alamogordo, New Mexico. And some of its flight crews live outside Missoula, but spend months of each year living with their airplanes. "These long-term contracts provide some stability to our long-term future," Hooper said. "And not just our air-tanker division but our charter-jet division and our general aviation maintenance work. We're better able to manage our long-term financial strategies. This is very significant to the future of Neptune." http://missoulian.com/news/local/neptune-aviation-gets-contracts-for-next-generation- firebombers/article_643a7e3f-1c1a-52f9-ad1e-843f6655a331.html Back to Top US Air Force Orders 28 More C-130 Hercules Aircraft The US Air Force has ordered an additional 28 C-130 Hercules military air transport airplanes to be built in fiscal years 2016 and 2017, defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced in a press release. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The aircraft will be constructed in Marietta, Georgia, and is expected to be complete and work on the contract will be completed by April 30,2017, the release said. "Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Georgia, has been awarded a $260,078,333 modification... [to its existing] contract... for... 28 fiscal 2016C-130J aircraft," the release, issued on Monday, stated. The Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft that can take off and land carrying heavy payloads on unprepared runways. The aircraft is also used for airborne assaults, aerial refueling and in other roles as well. The press release said the contract was awarded with long-lead efforts. Contracting for long-lead items using congressionally appropriated advance procurement funds is a special contracting method used to protect planned production schedules for major system acquisitions, the US Air Force stated on its website. http://sputniknews.com/military/20151027/1029148758/us-air-force-hercules.html#ixzz3plButcic Back to Top GAMA welcomes electric/hybrid aircraft The Pipistrel Alpha Electro is an example of the emerging electrically powered aircraft market. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association has established an associate member category for electrically powered and hybrid-propulsion aircraft. The reason behind this move is to "facilitate the coordination of the associate members' technical expertise and GAMA's collective policy experience to better enable the worldwide development, growth, and airworthiness certification of electric and hybrid propulsion technology to benefit the future of general aviation." This action by the GAMA Board of Directors is a first, and helps further the cause of electric and hybrid gas-electric aviation. To a large extent, it confers legitimacy to an emerging, ecologically friendly technology that many have attempted to marginalize. GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said, "...We see this aerodynamically innovative emerging propulsion technology facilitating totally new aircraft designs that remain very safe, highly reliable, and may dramatically lower the operational costs of flying. GAMA's core expertise is in working with policymakers and regulatory authorities around the globe to speed innovation and introduction of new products to the market. Our goal with this associate membership is to allow many of these new technology companies to tap into this expertise." http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2015/October/26/GAMA-Admits-Electric-aircraft Back to Top Japan to purchase US-made refueling aircraft A KC-46A Pegasus takes off on its inaugural test flight Sept. 25, 2015, from Paine Field in Everett, Wash. Japan will purchase the new Boeing midair refueling aircraft, in part because it will help its forces train with the United States, Japanese officials said. TOKYO - Japan will purchase Boeing's new KC-46A Pegasus midair refueling aircraft, in part because it will help its forces train with the United States, Japanese officials said. Japan chose the Pegasus - which is slated to eventually replace the U.S. KC-135 fleet after its scheduled delivery in 2017 - over an offering from Europe's Airbus. Japan Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani called the Pegasus "a superior model for U.S. and Japan bilateral operation and training," according to a Friday news conference transcript. The tanker will fuel fighter aircraft deployed in the airspace surrounding Japan, Nakatani added. In recent years, Japanese fighter jet scrambles have increased in response to potential airspace violations from China and Russia, according to Japan Defense Ministry statements. China claims the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands, and the two nations have repeatedly sent fighters near the uninhabited East China Sea territories. Japan will buy three KC-46 tankers by 2020 for about 20.8 billion yen ($172.8 million) per plane, according to Japanese media reports. The Pegasus can carry up to 212,299 pounds of fuel, according to Boeing's website. The U.S. Air Force will acquire 179 KC-46 aircraft by 2027, Boeing said. The Air Force's KC-135 Stratotankers were delivered between 1957 and 1965, according to the Air Force's website. They have received periodic upgrades to engines, avionics and other systems. http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/japan-to-purchase-us-made-refueling-aircraft-1.375326 Back to Top Canada's F-35 Decision Poised To Shake Up Fighter Jet Market WASHINGTON, VICTORIA, British Columbia, LONDON, PARIS and TEL AVIV - In a move that promises to shake up the fighter jet market, Canada's new Liberal Party government is widely expected to pull out of the Pentagon's F-35 program. Although the remaining international partners are standing by their commitment to the joint strike fighter, Ottawa's potential exit is not exactly a vote of confidence in the fifth-generation fighter jet. If Justin Trudeau, the newly elected prime minister, follows through on his pledge to cancel the country's planned 65-plane purchase, Canada would become the first country to reject the fifth-generation fighter - and, potentially, the first industrial partner to withdraw participation in the program. Such a move would reverberate across the globe, with all remaining partners forced to pay higher prices for F-35s. For Canada's supply base, the stakes are high. Many Canadian companies have spent years building components for the new plane and stand to lose as much as CDN$11 billion (US $8.3 billion) in work over the life of the jet. On the other hand, the new Liberal government argues that an open competition for Canada's fighter-jet replacement would more than make up for the loss of the F-35 business. Impact to F-35 Partners In 2010, Canada committed to buying 65 F-35s on a sole-source basis as the replacement for its fleet of CF-18s. Two years later, then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper paused that purchase amid accusations that his government had lied about the true cost of the fighter program. The F-35's future in Canada has been called into question since Trudeau's sweeping victory in the Oct. 19 election. Trudeau has promised to pull out of the F-35 program and to move quickly on replacing Canada's aging CF-18s with another plane through a competition. He has said that Canada does not need a stealth fighter for its defense needs and that the F-35 is too expensive. In Washington last week, US Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan, F-35 Joint Program Office chief, said the remaining international partners can blame Canada for a $1 million price increase per jet if Ottawa scraps its 65-plane buy. "If any partner or any service moves airplanes to the right or takes airplanes out, the price of the airplane" will rise, Bogdan told lawmakers Oct. 21. "We have estimated that the increase in price to everyone else is about 0.7 to one percent [or] about $1 million a copy for everybody else." If Canada pulls out, there would be no impact to the current development program, which ends in 2017, Bogdan stressed. However, the international partners would be forced to absorb Canada's 2.1 percent share in the cost of future sustainment and follow-on modernization, he said. But what would happen to the Canadian supply base, which has spent millions to help develop technology and components for the plane? Bogdan said the JPO does not have a "set rule" to deal with this scenario, but said the international and industry partners should have a "discussion" about what to do with the Canadian companies building parts for the F-35. Trudeau does not become prime minister until Nov. 4, and details about how he will proceed with the withdrawal from the F-35 program are still unclear. Asked about the impact on Canadian firms, a Liberal spokesman pointed to the party's election platform, which argues that such companies stand to gain more work from an open competition for Canada's fighter jet replacement. The platform noted that, under a Canada-run competition, Canadian firms would be guaranteed work - unlike under the F-35 program. Global Reaction Despite a potential price increase, the other international partners remain committed to the F-35 program. An Israeli defense source said he was "certainly not happy" about prospective cost growth as a result of Canada's presumptive withdrawal, but insisted that such a scenario would not affect Israel's interest in pursuing follow-on orders for the F-35I. He noted that additional squadrons of F-35Is - and the US military grant aid to pay for them - will be high on the agenda of Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon when he visits Washington this week to discuss Israel's enhanced security needs. Yaalon's discussions with US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and other top Pentagon officials precedes a scheduled Nov. 9 meeting for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama - their first since conclusion of the so-called P5+1 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Israel has 33 F-35Is on order, with a contractual option for another 17. The first aircraft is expected in December 2016, with initial operational capability planned by the end of 2017. Eventually, the Israeli Air Force expects a full force strength of 75 F-35Is. Italy, which is planning to buy 90 JSFs, stands to fork out $90 million extra should Canada leave the program. "We'll negotiate on the price," said a senior Italian defense source when asked about the possibility. But one fighter-industry executive in the UK, who asked not to be named, said the F-35's problems went deeper than a possible price hike caused by any Canadian withdrawal. "If the only problem the F-35 had was that the aircraft was $1 million more expensive, they wouldn't have a problem," he said. "The problem is the aircraft is tens of millions of dollars more than they originally told people it would be, and that's just the acquisition price. It's the sustainment cost that will destroy air forces." Norway's government is showing no deep anxiety that costs relating to acquisition will spiral to a level where it may want to re-negotiate on price or reduce its agreement to buy 52 aircraft. Maj Gen. Morten Klever, director of Norway's Fighter Replacement Program, said that Norway would conduct its own analysis on cost and the overall development of the F-35 program. However, the latest wrinkle in the F-35 development has been greeted with interest next door in Sweden where Saab is expected to re-establish contact with Canada about the single-engine Gripen NG fighter, which has notched up several export successes lately, most notably in Brazil, where a contract for 36 aircraft became effective last month. Sweden is also certain to try and garner advantage from the F-35 project's woes in efforts to sell the Gripen to Finland, which has started its fighter replacement program. A Saab spokesman would not say whether the company would bid the Gripen NG for a Canadian requirement if Ottawa bails out of the F-35. However, he emphasized the low cost of the aircraft as a reason for Canada to look more closely at the Swedish fighter. In Denmark, which is due to reach a decision on its multi-role aircraft by the end of 2015, the Ministry of Defense last week suggested that Canada's departure might add $50 million more to the overall F-35 acquisition cost, but the competition's short-listed candidates also include Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault's Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon. The MoD has asked the office in charge of the competition to conduct a deeper cost assessment. Doug Barrie, the senior air analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank in London, said the potential impact of a price rise caused by a Canadian withdrawal from the program is a bit of a red herring. Virtually all of the F-35 price escalation is down to US issues, he said. The biggest danger posed by Canada's presumptive exit is the pressure it puts on potential customers to look at other solutions, he said. "It's the precedent, not the price, that is the bigger danger for F-35 exports," he said. "If I was in a rival fighter company, I'd be thinking this development gives me a little more market leverage." What's next for Canada? Canada's expected decision to drop the F-35 was mixed with politics, as the cost for the fifth-generation fighter had dogged Harper's government. But Trudeau has positioned the argument as one of necessity, emphasizing that Canada should focus more on homeland defense than power projection with its new fighter buy. Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group, points to Trudeau signalling he'll withdraw Canada from military operations against the Islamic State group as proof that the new government is focusing inward, rather than outward, with its security decisions. "It was form fitting function - it's not about if it's a good fighter, but, rather, if this is a role Canada should have," Aboulafia said. "The F-35 is the perfect plane if Canada is going to be part of coalition warfare. If they just want something that provides air protection for sovereignty, something else fits just fine." Gene Colabatistto, group president for defence and security at CAE, the largest Canadian-owned defense company, agrees that the primary mission set Canada needs to fulfill is the sovereignty mission. The question now becomes what jet will fill that mission. Trudeau has previously suggested that the F-35 would not be considered in any competition, but even if it were invited back in, it seems an unlikely winner. Any new competition immediately becomes a plum prize for jet producers, as there are few large-scale fighter procurements expected in the next few years. The obvious choice to replace the Boeing-made CF-18 fleet would be the procurement of Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornets, said Aboulafia. The familiarity of pilots with the jet, interoperability with the older fleet, and the military ties between the US and Canada make it an easy choice. And, while it seems unlikely Canada would pick a non-American supplier, Aboulafia says not to be surprised if the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab's Gripen NG enter any competition. Rafale and Eurofighter have mounted strong marketing campaigns in the last six months as uncertainty over the F-35 grew. Dassault aviation chairman Eric Trappier said Oct. 22 he wrote a letter of congratulations to Trudeau that included a pitch for Rafale. A spokesman for Eurofighter Typhoon declined to comment, other than to say that officials are closely monitoring the political developments in Canada. If Canada selects the Super Hornet over the European fighters, it would be a huge win for Boeing, which has sought to extend the life of its facility in St. Louis. "That buys Boeing three more years," Aboulafia said, while noting it could also have an impact on US procurement. The Navy has argued for the procurement of more F/A-18s, and having the Canadian jets on the line could make the economic case that helps the Navy do just that. A Boeing win "works out very well for the carrier part of the Navy," Aboulafia said. But the decision to have a full competition instead of the sole-source selection of F-35 will result in a delay in getting the new fleets online, CAE's Colabatistto said. That, in turn, means the existing training infrastructure - including the CAE-run NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program which trains pilots for the Canadian military - will likely need to be extended. "The net is that [the competition] will delay the acquisition of a new fighter program," he told Defense News on Oct. 22. "It's not going to start in a year or two, which means that the fleet will start to be replaced in the early mid-2020s. Therefore, the training enterprise [will] extend the current training programs to get ready for that." And, while Canadian firms tied to the F-35 base released a Sept. 25 statement warning Trudeau's decision would cost "current and future jobs," Colabatistto does not see reason to panic. He sees more of a "reallocation" of defense funds than a major cut coming under Trudeau's government. Funding that may have gone in the short term to fighters will now instead be shifted to maritime assets, he said. "It's all one budget, and they will have to accommodate that," Colabatistto said. "But I think the most visible part will be the delay, or the stretching, of the fighter programs." http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2015/10/25/canada-f35-decision-poised-to-shake-up- market-israel-italy-eurofighter-rafale/74455726/ Back to Top SAVE THE DATE ISASI is pleased to announce that our 2016 seminar will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland from October 17 - 20, 2016 The theme for the seminar is "Every Link is Important" Details for the hotel, technical program, including the Call for Papers, companion program, and social events will be available on the ISASI web site in the near future We look forward to seeing you all next October Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY REQUEST I am a Senior First Officer with British Airways (BA), based at London, Heathrow flying the B777. I have been with BA for 15 years and have been flying the 777 for 6 years. Before that I was flying the 747-400. Prior to BA I flew the 747-400 with Virgin Atlantic, B757s and B767s with UK charter airline 'Airtours' (now part of Thomas Cook) and my professional flying career started as a manufacturer's pilot - flying Jetstream turboprops for British Aerospace. Before flying commercially, I worked with British Aerospace within the Technical Sales discipline and was, in my leisure time, involved with general aviation as an flying instructor. I am completing a Master's degree (MSc) in Air Transport Management with City University London and the final piece of that jigsaw is a project/dissertation and I have chosen the subject of 'Ice Crystal Icing'. Rather than the complex aero/thermodynamic concepts involved, I am exploring the operational and training challenges that airline flight crews face with this phenomenon. This qualification is not being sponsored by my employer; I have undertaken to finance it myself - the rationale being that as I intend to retire from airline flying in 5 years from now that new aviation challenges may become available to me based on this contemporary qualification and my aviation background (that is the plan any way!) the survey link follows https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ice-crystal-icing Sincere thanks, Mike Skelhorn Back to Top Upcoming Events: Fundamentals of IS-BAO November 2, 2015 Hong Kong, China https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1724162 IS-BAO Auditing November 3, 2015 Hong Kong, China https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1724176 BARS Auditor Training Washington DC? Tuesday-Thursday 5-7 April http://flightsafety.org/bars/auditor-training Aircraft Accident Investigation Training Course (ERAU) Nov. 2-6, 2015 Daytona Beach, FL www.erau.edu/cmas Air Cargo Safety and Security Symposium ALPA Washington, DC November 5, 2015 http://aircargoconference.alpa.org Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) Seminar (ERAU) Nov. 17-19, 2015 Daytona Beach, FL www.erau.edu/sms Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Seminar (ERAU) Dec. 8-10, 2015 Daytona Beach, FL www.erau.edu/uas New HFACS workshop Las Vegas December 15 & 16 www.hfacs.com 2016 DTI SMS/QA Symposium January 3, 4, & 5 2016 Disney World, FL 1-866-870-5490 www.dtiatlanta.com Back to Top JOBS AVAILABLE: Interdisciplinary Engineer (Mechanical or Aerospace Engineer) NTSB https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/419032300 Human Performance Investigator NTSB https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/413256600 Curt Lewis