Flight Safety Information June 30, 2016 - No. 128 In This Issue Black boxes on the doomed EgyptAir flight stopped recording when it dropped off radar at 37,000 feet Wreckage, 'Black Box' Data Point to Fire Aboard EgyptAir Flight 804 American Airlines jet catches fire at Sea-Tac Airport LATAM Airlines Flight LA705 declares emergency near Madrid TransAsia Flight 235 Crash: Engine Failure, Flight Crew Errors Reason For Crash In Taiwan, Report Mitsubishi starts final assembly of first delivery jet Jetaire Close To Approval For Foam Fuel-Tank Safety Kits Shortage of skills slows Africa aviation - Boeing What's Actually Inside An Airplane's Black Box? Airlines Could Start Running Out Of New Pilots By Decade's End Boeing Mulls Stretching 777 to Knock Out Airbus A380 Black boxes on the doomed EgyptAir flight stopped recording when it dropped off radar at 37,000 feet Investigators have downloaded data from one of the black box flight recorders on EgyptAir Flight MS804 and are preparing to analyze it, bringing them closer discovering what caused the jet to crash, Egypt's investigation committee said on Wednesday. The Airbus A320 plunged into the eastern Mediterranean Sea en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19, killing all 66 people on board. The cause of the crash remains unknown. "Preliminary information shows that the entire flight is recorded on the FDR since its takeoff from Charles de Gaulle airport until the recording stopped at an altitude of 37,000 feet where the accident occurred," Egypt's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee said in a statement. Search teams have salvaged both of the so-called black box flight recorders. Investigators are now preparing to analyze data from the flight data recorder. "Recorded data is showing consistency with SCARS messages of lavatory and avionics smoke," the committee said, referring to the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, which routinely downloads maintenance and fault data to the airline operator. The plane had sent a series of warnings indicating that smoke had been detected on board through SCARS. Recovered wreckage from the jet's front section showed signs of high temperature damage and soot, the committee said. Those were the first physical signs that fire may have broken out on the A320 airliner, in addition to maintenance messages indicating smoke alarms in the avionics area and lavatory. The committee said these findings would need further analysis to discover the source and reason for the marks, however. Second black box The company logo is displayed on a video camera screen at the Egyptair desk at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris Thomson Reuters The second black box, the cockpit voice recorder, is still being repaired in laboratories belonging to France's BEA aircraft accident investigation agency, where the data chips from both recorders were sent after the devices were retrieved from the Mediterranean earlier this month. The BEA is involved in the investigation because France is both the flight's point of origin and home to Airbus, the plane's manufacturer. Fifteen of those killed were French. A United States National Transport Safety Board investigator is also involved, since the plane's engines were built by a consortium led by the U.S. company Pratt & Whitney . If intact, the cockpit recorder should reveal pilot conversations and any cockpit alarms, as well as other clues such as engine noise. A search vessel contracted by the Egyptian government from Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search is still searching the Mediterranean for human remains. No explanation for the disaster has been ruled out, but current and former aviation officials increasingly believe the reason lies in the aircraft's technical systems, rather than sabotage. The Paris prosecutor's office opened a manslaughter investigation on Monday but said it was not looking into terrorism as a possible cause of the crash at this stage. The crash is the third blow since October to Egypt's travel industry, which is still suffering from the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. A Russian plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula in October, killing all 224 people on board in an attack claimed by Islamic State. In March, an EgyptAir plane was hijacked by a man wearing a fake suicide belt. No one was hurt. http://www.businessinsider.com/egyptair-flight-black-boxes-stopped-recording-when-it- dropped-off-radar-2016-6?yptr=yahoo?r=UK&IR=T Back to Top Wreckage, 'Black Box' Data Point to Fire Aboard EgyptAir Flight 804 Investigators say data recorder information consistent with smoke warnings transmitted by plane A flight data recorder was recovered from the crashed EgyptAir Flight 804. PHOTO: REUTERS By ANDY PASZTOR, DAHLIA KHOLAIF and ROBERT WALL Egyptian officials said Wednesday that evidence found in the wreckage of EgyptAir Flight 804, which crashed last month, and data retrieved from one of its "black boxes" show there may have been a fire on the plane. The flight data recorder contains information consistent with fault warnings transmitted by the Airbus Group SE A320 that pointed to smoke in one of the lavatories and the avionics bay located under the cabin floor and behind the cockpit, where key electronics are housed, Egyptian crash investigators said. Wreckage recovered from the plane that crashed May 19, killing all 66 people aboard, also showed signs of high temperature damage and soot, they said. By itself, the latest information doesn't indicate what may have touched off a fire or specifically which onboard systems it could have affected, according to independent air- safety experts monitoring the probe. But the findings offer the clearest evidence yet that a handful of automated messages transmitted by the Airbus A320 pointing to smoke or fire in the nose of the plane weren't erroneous. The latest details also strongly suggest the pilots were dealing with a combination of smoke and serious electrical malfunctions-potentially involving various systems-before the jetliner started a sharp turn, continued a more shallow turn in the opposite direction and then descended fairly rapidly. The latest evidence points to a nearly simultaneous shut-off of both the plane's flight-data recorder and an alerting system designed to transmit malfunction messages to the ground. Those twin events can't be intentionally commanded by pilots, according to safety experts, and aren't part of any authorized emergency procedures to respond to fire or smoke. The upshot, according to these experts, is that the pilots may have been struggling to cope with a significant electrical malfunction, or possibly a cascading series of malfunctions, while still at cruising altitude. Widespread electrical problems, these experts said, most likely would have made the aircraft harder to fly by shutting off certain computerized flight-control aids. Under such circumstances, the cockpit crew would have confronted the loss of certain built-in safeguards intended to prevent aerodynamic stalls or other extreme maneuvers. Accident investigators still haven't determined why the plane, flying from Paris to Cairo, crashed. Investigators said they are still working to repair the cockpit voice recorder, which was taken to France. French air-accident investigators are aiding the Egyptian-led probe. Once the device is repaired, it will be returned to Cairo for analysis. The cockpit voice recorder could yield information about how pilots reacted to the apparent smoke messages. The flight-data recorder stores technical details from the previous 25 hours of an aircraft's operations. The cockpit voice recorder retains the last two hours of crew conversation. Investigators also said information on the flight data recorder, which was returned to Egypt on Tuesday after being repaired in France, covers the flight until the recording suddenly stopped with the plane at an altitude of 37,000 feet. Egyptian officials said they would try to determine the source of the apparent high- temperature damage. http://www.wsj.com/articles/wreckage-black-box-data-point-to-fire-aboard-egyptair- flight-804-1467231659 Back to Top American Airlines jet catches fire at Sea-Tac Airport This American Airlines jet returned to the terminal after a fire in the rear of the plane on the runway on Wednesday, June 29, 2016. There were no injuries, and emergency crews put the fire out. Photo by Denise Whitaker/KOMO News SEATAC, Wash. - An American Airlines jet with 151 passengers and six crew members aboard caught fire at Sea-Tac Airport on Wednesday morning as it was taxiing toward the runway. The jetliner, Flight 728, was destined for Philadelphia when a controller warned the pilot about the fire. Sea-Tac Airport fire crews put out the flames on the tarmac. There were no injuries. Recordings from the air-traffic control tower at airport include a controller telling the plane's pilot that flames are coming out of the rear of the airplane. American Airlines later released a statement saying that the fire was in the airliner's auxiliary power unit. "Prior to departure from Seattle, American Airlines flight 728 experienced a mechanical issue with the auxiliary power unit (APU)," the airline statement said. "The Port of Seattle Fire Department responded after flames were reported from the APU exhaust. Once the aircraft was cleared, the Airbus A320 taxied back to the gate. Our maintenance team is currently inspecting the APU. We apologize to our passengers for the inconvenience." http://komonews.com/news/local/american-airlines-jet-catches-fire-at-sea-tac-airport Back to Top LATAM Airlines Flight LA705 declares emergency near Madrid LATAM Airlines Chile Flight LA705 made an emergency landing in the Spanish capital of Madrid after the cabin crew reported possible gases coming from the cargo area during a flight from Germany, officials say. The aircraft landed safely. (more) Flight LA705, which is operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, declared an emergency just after 9:30 p.m. Madrid time on Wednesday. "Prior to descent, the flight captain reported a possible emergency and activated the airport's emergency services," an airline spokesperson said. The airline said the cabin crew had reported the "possible presence of gases from the aircraft hold", which caused the alert. Emergency services met the aircraft upon its landing at Madrid Barajas International Airport and passengers were evacuated without incidents. "Following exhaustive checks by both the company and relevant authorities, the aircraft has been cleared to operate on its second leg between Madrid and Santiago, Chile, with no detection of gases in its hold or cabin," the airline spokesperson added. None of the passengers or crew members were injured as a result of the incident, and LATAM Airlines apologized to its passengers for the inconvenience. "The airline is committed to the upholding the highest safety and operational standards, and is taking all necessary measures to identify what happened as quickly as possible," the spokesperson said. http://bnonews.com/news/index.php/news/id4714 Back to Top TransAsia Flight 235 Crash: Engine Failure, Flight Crew Errors Reason For Crash In Taiwan, Report Says Rescuers carry out a rescue operation after a TransAsia Airways plane crash landed in a river, in New Taipei City, Feb. 4, 2015. Flight 235, which was carrying 53 passengers and five crew members on board, crashed into the Keelung River near Taipei while on its way to Kinmen islands off the coast of southeastern China. A TransAsia Airways plane that crashed into a river in Taiwan in February last year went down because of engine failure and flight crew errors, a final investigation report found Thursday. The ATR 72-600 passenger jet plunged into the river shortly after takeoff from Taipei's Songshan airport, killing 43 people. The Aviation Safety Council revealed last year that the pilot had shut down the only working engine, exclaiming, "Wow, pulled back wrong throttle," seconds before the crash. The investigation found that one of the engines was malfunctioning shortly after the plane took off. The plane was on its way to the island of Kinmen off mainland China, before it went down into the Keelung River in northern Taiwan. The accident, "was the result of many contributing factors, which culminated in a stall- induced loss of control," the report said, according to Agence France-Presse. "The flight crew did not perform the documented abnormal and emergency procedures to identify the failure and implement the required corrective actions," it added. This resulted to the two pilots' confusion over which engine was malfunctioning and eventually led to the shutdown of the wrong one. The twin-engine turbo-prop aircraft stalled and crashed shortly after its sole functioning engine was switched off. After the crash, Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration ordered all 55 of TransAsia's ATR pilots to undergo mandatory proficiency tests for handling an aircraft during engine failure. The Taiwanese government also ordered all local airlines to review their safety protocols in the event of a crash. http://www.ibtimes.com/transasia-flight-235-crash-engine-failure-flight-crew-errors- reason-crash-taiwan-2388465 Back to Top Mitsubishi starts final assembly of first delivery jet Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is set to begin final assembly of the first customer aircraft for the MRJ regional jet programme, with various sections of the fuselage having been delivered to the MRJ final assembly hangar. In a newsletter, Mitsubishi Aircraft says it will work through the final assembly process, with an eye on delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways in mid-2018. The Japanese airframer also gave an update of MRJ flight tests, which are ongoing using two test aircraft. It says valid results have been obtained from FTA-2, which started flying on 31 May, including the confirmation of emergency response measures such as flying with one engine, activation of emergency power units and stall tests. Various tests are also being carried out as the programme prepares for a ferry flight to Moses Lake in Washington State this summer. These include the expansion of its flight envelop to its design specifications of a maximum speed of Mach 0.78 and a maximum altitude of 39,000ft, conducting instrument flights, as well as checking on the terrain awareness and warning system and the collision avoidance system. Its Moses Lake Flight Test Centre meanwhile has been conducting flights using a small aircraft, rehearsing for the test missions ahead. Mitsubishi adds that preparation is underway for FTA-3 and FTA-4 to take their first flights this summer. www.flightglobal.com Back to Top Jetaire Close To Approval For Foam Fuel-Tank Safety Kits An Atlanta-based aircraft-modifications specialist is close to earning FAA approval for Boeing 737NG and AirbusA320 flammability reduction systems, to give operators an alternative to inerting systems offered as part of a push to meet an FAA mandate. Jetaire Group is the final phase of demonstrating that the systems it designed for the two most popular aircraft families work as designed. The FAA has signed off on all supplemental type certificate (STC) data, and all that remains is installing each kit on an aircraft to demonstrate "conformity," Jetaire President Michael Williams told Aviation Daily. He expects to have each kit installed in the next few weeks, and should have STCs in hand within a week after installation. Unlike other inerting kits that use a system to replace air in a tank with an inert gas, Jetaire's design lines the tank with a proprietary foam, which suppresses fuel ignition. Used in the military for years, foam-based systems have not gained a foothold in the air- transport market. Part of the reason is that both Airbus and Boeing opted for inerting systems as their way of recommending operators meet the FAA's 2008 Fuel Tank Flammability Reduction (FTFR) rule. Most large operators, facing the first deadline of retrofitting 50% of their center-wing-tank-equipped fleets by Dec. 26, 2014, opted for the original equipment manufacturer-backed kits. With the full-fleet modification deadline of Dec. 26, 2017, creeping up, Williams believes there will be market for alternative approaches, including a foam-based kit. "It has no moving parts, no failure modes, and requires no maintenance for 60 months," when the first inspection is done, he said. The 737NG STC is a modification of an existing Jetaire STC for 737 Classics. It would cover all 737NGs except for the 737-900, which has a different center tank than the other family members. The A320 STC would be new, but it's based on the same design as the approved 737 Classic STC, "so certification issues are not expected," Williams said. Jetaire's kit is installed on about 20 737 Classics-mostly charter operators with single aircraft or small fleets. It just completed an installation on a 737-300 flown by a casino operator, Williams said. One mainline carrier was eying Jetaire kits for some of its 737 Classics, but has opted to phase out the aircraft before the FAA deadline, obviating the need to modify them. The kit's operational impact is a reduction of about 4 min. of fuel on the 737 Classic- roughly 90 gal., Williams said. Fuel burn is not affected. Installation takes 2-3 days, he added, compared to more than a week for an inerting system. As the full-fleet modification deadline approaches, third-party kit suppliers could see more interest in their products. The air separation module (ASM), the heart of an inerting system, has been failing on 737NGs after about half of its 20,000-25,000-hr. service life expectancy. Replacing an out-of-warranty ASM can cost $75,000. Boeing is working with suppliers, including ASM manufacturer Parker Hannifin, on a new kit, but it isn't expected to be available until 2017. Meanwhile, the FAA has said that while it will consider relaxing the deadline on an operator-by-operator basis, a general extension will not be granted. This gives suppliers such as Jetaire opportunity to win business from operators that are either looking for alternatives or paint themselves into a corner by not ordering kits early enough. Once STCs are in hand, Williams said lead times for Jetaire's kits will be 60-90 days, though he expects this to increase as orders roll in. Besides the 737NG and A320 kits, Jetaire is slated to install a 767-200 kit on a VIP aircraft in September during a scheduled maintenance visit. If it functions as designed, the installation will complete the STC for that model, Williams said. The company also is working on kits for several other models, including 757-200s and the few remaining 737- 200s. www.aviationweek.com Back to Top Shortage of skills slows Africa aviation - Boeing Johannesburg - African countries are grappling with skills shortages in aviation. Boeing International Africa vice-president Joćo Miguel Santos, speaking on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Johannesburg, said yesterday that Africa's aviation regulatory authorities should consolidate along the existing regional economic communities in order to improve regulatory certainty and enhance administrative efficiency. While African countries had their respective regulatory authorities, only six - South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco - could adequately staff their entities. "Why can't you have a regional aviation authority for the Southern African Development Community, Economic Community of West African States (and) East Africa Communities?" he said. Santos, however, said he doubted if countries would be willing to take such a bold step. "I do not think there is a political will," said Santos. Joachim Vermooten, an independent transport economist, said yesterday that consolidating the continent's aviation authorities according to regional economic communities was a sound idea, but could be difficult to implement. "It is a good idea because of the scarce skill in this area. While it is possible, it may be difficult to implement this integration because countries like to exercise authority over their air spaces," said Vermooten. He said a public-private partnership model was best suited for such a move, "otherwise countries will feel that they are giving away their sovereignty". Meanwhile, the number of the new airplanes Africa that would need in the next two decades has increased from the previously-forecasted 1 170. "That number has increased," said Vermooten. He said Boeing would release the recent figures soon. Boeing last year said the 1 170 airplanes would cost $160 billion (R2.37 trillion). He said African airlines were taking delivery of Boeing's new aircraft. The continent was no longer the dumping ground of ageing fleets, said Vermooten. "It used to be. Not anymore." He counted Comair/Kulula (South Africa), Royal Air Maroc (Morocco), Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopia), TAAG Angola (Angola) and Ceiba International (Equatorial Guinea). Globally, airlines would need a total of 38 050 airplanes, valued at $5.6 trillion by 2034 - 70 percent of the airplanes would be the single-aisle type, Vermooten said. Vermooten said the aircraft financing environment was "healthy". Major sources of finance included commercial banks, export credit agencies, private equity and hedge funds, capital markets, airframe and engine manufacturers and leasing companies. "There is liquidity in the market,' he said. He said financing had improved substantially since 2009. He said the leasing industry had grown over the years, with about 40 percent of global airplanes were leased, compared with 17 percent in 1970. "Airlines across the world recognise the value of leasing," he said. He said leasing provided a hedge in case of economic volatility. "The rule of thumb is that 60 percent of the fleet is owned by the airline. The other 40 percent is leased." However, Russia had a substantially high percentage of leased aircraft, while an average 25 percent of aircraft in Africa were leased, he said. Africa was an "emerging but challenging" market and its growth prospects rivalled Asia's, Santos said, noting that by 2035, Africa would have a larger working-age population than China and India. A growing middle class drove consumer demand, he said. http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/shortage-of-skills-slows-africa-aviation---boeing- 2040058 Back to Top What's Actually Inside An Airplane's Black Box? Whenever you hear about a tragic plane crash, you always hear about the mythical black box. What exactly does the black box do and what's even inside it? What's Inside took a look by cutting the black box (it's not actually black) in half and ripping it open to see its guts. The black box can withstand temperatures of 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and tolerate up to 3400 G forces (so it's basically an indestructible beast). The purpose of a black box, or flight data recorder, is to keep a record of the airplane's all-important flight data (flight path, speed, altitude, sensors, etc.), store the audio conversation between the pilots and the radio communication between the plane and air traffic control, and basically keep a log of anything else you need to figure out why a plane went down. With all that data, you can easily recreate what happened during a flight. And it's all stored on a chip. That's the magic hidden inside a black box. But that's not all there is inside. The black box has an indestructible, thick metal exterior that hides different layers of protection and insulation. There's a hard, clay-like outer layer and a softer green cushion on the inside, designed to protect the precious chip. http://sploid.gizmodo.com/whats-actually-inside-an-airplanes-black-box-1782841349 Back to Top Airlines Could Start Running Out Of New Pilots By Decade's End For years, regional airlines, government agencies, and pilot groups have warned that new regulations, higher costs of school, and lower salaries had led to a shortage of pilots that could affect the number of flights smaller carriers are able to offer. It now appears that this scarcity of youngsters hoping to someday take flight could result in airlines beginning to run out of pilot in as few as three years. Bloomberg, citing a study by the University of North Dakota's Aviation Department, reports that as more pilots reach the mandatory age of retirement - and fewer young fliers enter commercial aviation - the pilot deficit could soar to 15,000 in 10 years. The shortage was illustrated earlier this year when regional carrier Republic Airways, which provides short-haul flights for several major airlines, filed for bankruptcy citing the ongoing regional pilot shortage. As a Government Accountability Office report found in 2014, many would-be pilots have changed their career paths when faced with the stiff requirements and time-consuming, expensive process tied to flying commercially. While most major airlines aren't losing pilots at an exponential rate yet, they are worried that the lack of people seeking to become pilots with smaller regional airlines - those that bring passengers from smaller airports to hub airports - will create a trickle up effect, as smaller operators typically create a hiring pool for major carriers. "That is one of the things in my job I get to worry about every day and when I go to bed at night," Greg Muccio, a senior manager at Southwest Airlines Co., tells Bloomberg. According to the University of North Dakota study, would-be pilots cited three reasons for their decision to change career paths: the cost of flight training and certification; low pay at regional airports; and regulatory changes to the hours required before becoming a first officer. Now, major carriers are trying to alleviate the shortage by changing the way they hire new pilots, making benefits packages and salaries more attractive. For example, Bloomberg reports, some airlines are boosting signing bonuses at regional carriers they own and partnering with flight schools and university aviation programs to make the process more affordable. A focus on regional airline pilot compensation makes sense for major carriers, as the 2014 GAO report found that failure by 11 out of 12 regional airlines to meet hiring targets for entry-level pilots may have more to do with the salary offered than with the number of pilots available. The average starting salary for regional airlines is $22,400, well below what major airlines offer. American Airlines' regional carriers - Envoy, Piedmont and PSA airlines - recently increased signing bonuses to $15,000, while Delta's Endeavor regional carrier now pays a signing bonus of $23,000. As for the cost of training, Bloomberg reports that flight-training fees for a commercial aviation major total about $64,500 at the University of North Dakota, the largest public aviation program in the U.S. However, that figure is just for fees, it doesn't include tuition or room and board. To help lessen some of these costs, Southwest tells Bloomberg that it had dropped a requirement that pilot applicants hold a certificate to fly Boeing 737s. The certificate can cost as much as $14,000. JetBlue began a program earlier this year, dubbed Gateway Select, that aims to recruit would-be pilots with no flying experience. These recruits are tested and then placed in a four-year study program. In addition to lower compensation and high training costs, airlines also say the shortage in pilots is tied to a lack of interest. "The biggest problem is a general lack of interest in folks pursuing this as a career anymore. That's what puts us in the most jeopardy," Muccio tells Bloomberg. And so the airline is trying to get in early with future pilots. Muccio says that he's spending more time visiting colleges, high schools, and elementary schools trying to interest students in a flying career. https://consumerist.com/2016/06/29/airlines-could-start-running-out-of-new-pilots-by- decades-end/ Back to Top Boeing Mulls Stretching 777 to Knock Out Airbus A380 * U.S. planemaker has discussed '777-10X' with Emirates, others * Proposed wide-body plane would compete with Airbus superjumbo Boeing Co. is proposing to stretch its largest 777 model to create a twin-engine behemoth aimed at delivering a knock-out blow to Airbus Group SE's struggling A380 superjumbo, said people familiar with its plans. The U.S. planemaker has approached several carriers about the plane it calls the 777- 10X, including Dubai-based Emirates, the world's largest operator of both Boeing's 777 and Airbus's double-decker aircraft, said the people, who asked not to be identified because talks are private. The proposed model would carry about 450 travelers, sharpening its rivalry with the A380, two of the people said. To do so, Boeing would stretch the frame of its 777-9 to squeeze in about four extra rows of seats. The -9, whose debut is slated for decade's end, will be the first twin-engine model to encroach on jumbo territory by hauling more than 400 passengers. "We are always evaluating technologies, airplane configurations and market needs," said Doug Alder, a Boeing spokesman. "While no decisions have been made, we will continue to study 777X derivatives and seek customer input to develop products that provide the most value for customers." An Emirates spokeswoman said that the world's biggest international airline is in "regular contact" with both Boeing and Airbus about current and future fleet requirements. A380 Uncertainty While Emirates has reviewed the new 777 variant, it isn't sold on the concept, said a person familiar with the talks. The carrier has ordered 289 jets from Boeing's 777 family, including 150 of the upgraded versions known as the 777X. Boeing unsuccessfully pitched Emirates on its 747-8 jumbo two years ago as a potential A380 replacement. The U.S. manufacturer is angling to take advantage of uncertainty over the future of the A380, and any strain in Airbus's relationship with Emirates. While the Gulf carrier, which has taken 80 A380s and last month ordered two more, lifting its backlog to 64, has been pressing the European planemaker to upgrade the model to bolster fuel savings, Airbus has been reluctant to make the multibillion-dollar investment for essentially one customer. Tim Clark, president of Emirates, told Bloomberg earlier this month that talks with Airbus to enhance the A380 with new engines had lapsed. "My main concern is that they stop producing the plane," he said. The airline's A380s seat between 489 and 615 passengers, according to its website. For a piece on Emirates pushing for superjumbos, click here. Boeing is exploring ways to expand its current product line-up into new market niches as it battles Airbus for supremacy in the wide-body market and staves off new competitive threats to its best-selling 737 narrow-body jets. Also on its drawing board: a potential redesign of the smallest 737 Max and a stretch of the largest plane in that family. Enlarging the 777-9, which is already designed to seat more than 400 people, would give Boeing another way to woo jumbo-jet operators as sales of the four-engine A380 and 747 falter. Boeing's large twin-engine jets have hastened their demise by offering similar range and seating, ample cargo capacity and greater savings on fuel and maintenance. Boeing's proposed plane could also help the U.S. planemaker counter a new stretched version of the A350 wide-body jetliner that Airbus has been discussing with prospective customers who don't need the engine thrust or the range of the 777-9. Most Expensive The -9, the best-selling member of the 777X family, seats between 400 and 425 passengers and has the range to fly 7,600 nautical miles (14,075 kilometers). It is the most expensive Boeing jetliner, and the first to bear a $400 million price tag. Sales of the 777X have slowed since Boeing unveiled the plane amid a blitz for 235 orders at the Dubai Airshow in November 2013. The upgraded planes will feature Boeing's largest-ever wingspan, complete with tips that fold up while the plane taxis around airports. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and All Nippon Airways Co. are customers, along with the three-largest Persian Gulf carriers. Boeing's last sale came more than a year ago, when an unidentified customer ordered 10 of the planes. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-30/boeing-said-to-mull-stretching- 777-to-knock-out-airbus-a380-jet Curt Lewis