Flight Safety Information May 15, 2017 - No. 097 Incident: Brussels A333 near Menorca on May 13th 2017, hydraulic failure Incident: THY A332 near Amsterdam on May 11th 2017, hydraulic failure Incident: Eurowings A319 near Hamburg on May 12th 2017, cracked windshield Incident: American A319 near Toronto on May 3rd 2017, burning odour on board EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Access codes for United cockpit doors accidentally posted online Why Airline Pilots Can't Chit Chat Below 10,000 Feet. How a wider laptop ban could threaten your safety and data Iowa's Operator Performance Laboratory tackles pilot behavior, air safety Report: 96 percent of pilot-reported drone sightings are totally benign Airbus looks to upgrades to counter Boeing's new mid-market jet Airbus looks to upgrades to counter Boeing's new mid-market jet. Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award Nominations Invited 2017 CHC Safety & Quality Summit Early Registration Now Open Research Survey Graduate Research Survey Incident: Brussels A333 near Menorca on May 13th 2017, hydraulic failure A Brussels Airlines Airbus A330-300, registration OO-SFV performing flight SN-357 from Brussels (Belgium) to Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), was enroute at FL370 about 70nm east of Menorca,SP (Spain) when the crew decided to return to Brussels due to a hydraulic failure. The aircraft descended to FL240, later FL180 and FL120 for the flight back and landed safely back on Brussels' runway 25L with open gear doors about 2:40 hours later. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a8edf8a&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: KLM B773 near Shanghai on May 12th 2017, engine damage A KLM Boeing 777-300, registration PH-BVK performing flight KL-896 from Shanghai Pudong (China) to Amsterdam (Netherlands) with 396 people on board, was enroute at 9200 meters (FL301) about 330nm northnorthwest of Shanghai when the crew decided to descend the aircraft and return to Shanghai due to problems with an engine (GE90). The aircraft landed safely on Shanghai's runway 35L about 2:20 hours after leaving 9200 meters. The airline reported an external cause caused minor damage to an engine. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a8eddf3&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Eurowings A319 near Hamburg on May 12th 2017, cracked windshield A Eurowings Airbus A319-100, registration D-ABGS performing flight EW-9224 from Dusseldorf (Germany) to Gothenburg (Sweden) with 98 passengers, was enroute at FL390 about 30nm northwest of Hamburg (Germany) when the crew decided to divert to Hamburg due to a captain's windshield having cracked. The aircraft landed safely on Hamburg's runway 05 about 25 minutes after leaving FL390. The airline reported the passengers were taken to hotels and were rebooked onto other flights. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a8eda89&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: American A319 near Toronto on May 3rd 2017, burning odour on board An American Airlines Airbus A319-100, registration N8009T performing flight AA-2654 from Los Angeles,CA (USA) to Toronto,ON (Canada) with 114 people on board, was descending towards Toronto, when a burning odour was noticed in the cabin prompting the flight crew to declare emergency. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Toronto's runway 33L. Emergency services inspected the aircraft but could not find unusual from the outside. They followed the aircraft to the gate, where passengers disembarked normally. The Canadian TSB reported the cause of the odour could not be determined. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL2654/history/20170503/1545Z/KLAX/CYYZ http://avherald.com/h?article=4a8e20d9&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Access codes for United cockpit doors accidentally posted online United Continental Holdings alerted pilots that access codes to cockpit doors were accidentally posted on a public website by a flight attendant, reports the Wall Street Journal. The company, which owns United Airlines and United Express, asked pilots to follow security procedures already in use, including visually confirming someone's identity before they are allowed onto the flight deck even if they enter the correct security code into the cockpit door's keypad. The Air Line Pilots Association, a union that represents 55,000 pilots in the U.S. and Canada, told the WSJ on Sunday that the problem had been fixed. The notable thing about this security breach is that it was caused by human error, not a hack, and illustrates how vulnerable cockpits are to intruders despite existing safety procedures. The Air Line Pilots Association has advocated for secondary barriers made from mesh or steel cables to be installed on cockpits doors to make it harder to break into, but airlines have said that they aren't necessary. For example, United told the Chicago Tribune in 2013 that "security measures have evolved in the years since the secondary barriers were ordered, and many more layers of security now exist." The 2015 Germanwings crash, in which a plane was deliberately flown into a mountain by a pilot who had locked his co-pilot out of the flight deck, highlighted the potential drawbacks of impenetrable cockpit doors if additional safety procedures are not put in place. These include not allowing someone to be left alone in the cockpit, a Federal Aviation Administration policy that was also adopted by German airlines after the crash. https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/14/access-codes-for-united-cockpit-doors-accidentally-posted-online/ Back to Top Why Airline Pilots Can't Chit Chat Below 10,000 Feet Pilot in cockpit. In the cockpit silence is golden. On a Wednesday morning in September 1974, Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 en route from Charleston plummeted into a forested hillside near Charlotte Douglas International Airport (at the time, called Douglas Municipal Airport). Of the 82 individuals on board, 69 perished on impact and three more later passed from related injuries. The fatalities included CBS Evening News editor John Merriman and 6th Naval District Rear Admiral Charles W. Cummings, as well as Dr. James Colbert and his sons Peter and Paul-the respective father and siblings of comedian Stephen Colbert, who was only 10 years old at the time. Though some officials initially suspected heavy fog to be the culprit, a subsequent investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed the true cause to be "poor cockpit discipline" on behalf of the crew. Specifically: small talk. During the process of landing, the captain and first officer had become distracted while trying to identify nearby Carowinds amusement park on the ground below. Following the wreck of Flight 212 and other similar incidents, in 1981 the Federal Aviation Administration enacted the Sterile Cockpit Rule, intended to prohibit "crew member performance of non-essential duties or activities while the aircraft is involved in taxi, takeoff, landing, and all other flight operations conducted below 10,000 feet." "If you look at accident history, most incidents happen during takeoff or landing," says Candace Kolander, Air Safety, Health and Security Coordinator for the Association of Flight Attendants. "The flight crew is supposed to concentrate on everything that can and can't happen during those phases because that's when you could have the biggest issues that could cause the aircraft to crash." But the regulation's implementation hasn't stopped all accidents caused by crew chit-chat. According to a June 1993 article in the Aviation Safety and Reporting System journal Directline that looked at 63 reports documenting Sterile Cockpit violations of varying severity, the most common cause was extraneous conversation. One submission detailed: "This very senior captain was about to leave on a scuba diving trip and talked nonstop to the female jump seat rider upon discovering she was also a diver ... This [altitude deviation] could have been prevented entirely if this particular captain ... [had paid] attention to his job and observe[d] some approximation of the Sterile Cockpit below 10,000 feet." Other episodes were the result of "sightseeing," "non-pertinent radio calls and PA announcements" and "distractions from flight attendants." As Kolander emphasizes, though they are not physically in the cockpit, it's important for flight attendants to obey the Sterile Cockpit Rule as well: "You cannot call the flight deck during Sterile Cockpit if, for instance, it's too hot in the cabin, because that communication can wait. It's about recognizing that crew up there is monitoring equipment and surroundings, and responding to takeoff or landing. That's their primary focus." No surprise, pilots and crew are prohibited from using cell phones on the job. And napping? Unless they're on a scheduled break, that's a hard no. Looks like at least one pilot didn't get that memo. He was caught sleeping on the job while a trainee flew the plane. We'll take awkward silence over reckless piloting any day. http://www.cntraveler.com/story/why-airline-pilots-cant-chit-chat-below-10000-feet Back to Top How a wider laptop ban could threaten your safety and data Passengers boarding an airplane. Passengers flying to the U.S. from Europe may soon have to check their laptops before boarding. For the past several days, frequent travelers have been dreading something far worse than being stuck in a middle seat: having to check their laptops and tablets before flying home from Europe. That's the fear invoked by news reports that the Department of Homeland Security will expand its current ban on large electronic devices in the cabins of flights to the U.S. from the initial 10 airports across Africa and the Middle East to all U.S.-bound flights coming from anywhere in Europe. Until we see the details of this plan's implementations, we'll have to hold off on some questions about a policy that almost no other country imposes. Still, you should wonder what airlines might do to cope with such a ban, and what that might mean for your safety and the safety of your data. Checking your laptop The cardinal rule of checking baggage is not to put anything valuable into a bag that will spend hours in the custody of strangers, many of whom don't work for the airline you fly. Some foreign airlines blindsided by the electronics ban announced in March responded by setting up systems to check laptops at the gate or even on board, then keeping them with airline staff members until reuniting the devices with their owners after the flight. That's what Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines have done. The first three also offer loaner devices - laptops at Emirates and Qatar, iPads at Etihad - to passengers in business or first class. People who have used these airlines' laptop-check services - see, for instance, travel-blog reports on flights with Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, and Turkish - have generally had positive things to say about them. Note that this service may not alleviate another risk of banning laptops from passenger cabins: the fire hazards posed by their lithium-ion batteries, which are already banned from being shipped as cargo on passenger aircraft. Analyst Bob Mann, president of the airline-consulting firm RW Mann & Company, warned that leaving this work to passengers would be even worse: "Given passengers cannot be presumed to know how to properly pack spare and in-use batteries and devices, this proposed order has very serious safety implications for every flight on which it is imposed." And flights from the U.S. to the Middle East involve far fewer people: 9,753,172 passengers in the 12 months ending last June, versus 59,401,505 travelers between the U.S. and Europe over that period, according to Department of Transportation statistics. Protect your data if you can't protect your device Should the current ban be extended across Europe, travelers with gadgets would have to hope that their airlines would provide some sort of gadget-concierge service like those Mideast carriers. But U.S. airlines - none of which fly out of the 10 airports covered by the current ban - have yet to say how they might deal with a wider prohibition on in-cabin electronics. Neither United Airlines (UAL) nor Delta Air Lines (DAL) responded to requests for comments on the matter. A representative with American Airlines (AAL) referred me to the trade group Airlines for America, which wouldn't set individual baggage policies. If your airline will gate-check your laptop, you should not have to worry about baggage handlers stealing it. But you should still be ready for consequences worse than, say, nine hours of unproductive boredom between Frankfurt and Washington. The cost of a lost laptop or tablet may not be an issue with devices worth less than the cap on liability for luggage (currently, about $1,550). But the data on them is another issue. "We recommend that people that can, travel with a Chromebook," advised Joseph Lorenzo Hall, chief technologist at the Center for Democracy & Technology. Those cheap, light laptops backup your data automatically to Google (GOOG, GOOGL), allowing you to wipe one before handing it over, then restore it on arrival. If you must carry a "real" laptop, Hall advised setting a "reasonably complex" password and powering the device down before checking it. Another tech-policy expert had similar advice about bringing hardware you can't quickly reset and restore once you get home. "Ultimately, travelers should be more careful with the devices they choose to bring across borders under these new regulations," wrote Amie Stepanovich, a policy manager and counsel with Access Now. "In many cases the best advice will be to leave the laptop at home." https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wider-laptop-ban-threaten-safety-data-160815174.html Back to Top Iowa's Operator Performance Laboratory tackles pilot behavior, air safety Current research focuses on pilot distraction and degraded visual environments Minutes before taking flight_ Chris Reuter makes sure all the study equipment is working for test subject Bryce Richards. Tom Schnell_ in the front seat_ took Richards up as part of a study on distracted pilots. As commercial and military aircraft become more technologically complex, the University of Iowa Operator Performance Laboratory (OPL) is conducting research to better understand how much a pilot can handle in the cockpit before becoming overwhelmed and stressed-a situation that can turn deadly in seconds. In a separate study, but one that also aims to keep pilots and passengers safe, the lab is testing new 3-D technology to help helicopter pilots land amidst blowing dirt, sand, and snow. OPL director Tom Schnell recently traveled to Europe to fly a Swiss Army helicopter equipped with the technology, which uses a pulsed laser to measure distances and locate obstacles. Also participating in the test were members of the NATO Industrial Advisory Group, who work together to improve military technology. In Europe, the testing environment was a snowy mountaintop, but last September Schnell and his team traveled to Arizona to evaluate the equipment in a dusty patch of desert. The Arizona trip was sponsored by Airbus, the maker of the 3-D technology. The projects are good examples of the work OPL does to improve the efficiency and safety of flight- management systems and other airborne sensor systems. Housed in a cluster of hangars and office buildings at the Iowa City Municipal Airport, OPL is a member of the UI's Center for Computer Aided Design (CCAD). Both OPL and CCAD are part of the UI College of Engineering. "Pilots have to perform a lot of headwork when they're in the cockpit, whether it's the cockpit of a medivac helicopter or the cockpit of a commercial jetliner," says Schnell. "At OPL, we provide an academic research environment that allows for rigorous testing of new technology, as well as the study of pilot behavior. The goal of many of the studies we undertake is to keep pilots and passengers safe." Avoiding cockpit confusion To better understand pilot function in the cockpit, OPL researchers recently partnered with Rockwell Collins, an avionics and information technology systems company, to equip one of the lab's two jet fighter training aircraft with an additional computer and touch screen to virtually augment pilot workload in flight. NeuroTracker software by CogniSens Inc., a Canadian firm that uses neurological technologies to enhance cognitive capabilities, produces images of spheres, each with an ID number, that move across the screen. As the study participants perform flight maneuvers of varying difficulty-from an easy 30-degree right turn to a timed, 1,000-foot descent with 360-degree turn-they also must keep track of the moving spheres. A camera attached to the pilot's helmet records eye movement and a heart monitor keeps track of their heart rate. This information is recorded, along with other physiological readings, using software created by OPL called the Cognitive Avionics Tool Set, or CATS. Schnell recruited inexperienced pilots with a low number of flight hours because he wanted to measure how quickly their flight performance deteriorated as a result of increased workload. (Experienced pilots are more adept at juggling activities.) Some study participants came from a flight school in Dubuque, Iowa, and others volunteered as a tradeoff for flying time in the jet. "I've never flown a plane like this, so it's pretty exciting," says study participant Bryce Richards, of Polk City, Iowa. two men working in OPL Maxime Montariol, working in Tom Schnell's lab at the Iowa City Municipal Airport, works to get Bryce Richards situated in the back of one of the lab's jets. Richards spent the day at the lab as a test subject doing a variety of exercises in a study that is measuring the effects of distraction on relatively inexperienced pilots, both in simulated and in-flight settings. Photo by Tim Schoon. Dressed in a flight suit, Richards puts on the camera-equipped helmet and climbs into the dual-cockpit jet with Schnell. Upon reaching an altitude of roughly 10,000 feet, Richards takes control of the aircraft, running various maneuvers over the flat, Midwestern terrain. Inside the hangar, researchers Chris Reuter and Maxime Montariol, a French Air Force Academy student who sought work in the lab after watching a YouTube video spotlighting OPL's work, monitor a set of computer screens that depict Richards' situation in real time. Communicating via radio with the jet and interacting with the onboard computers through a digital data link, Reuter and Montariol carefully record the ID numbers of the moving spheres as Richards reads them. Although test participants practice on the NeuroTracker software for weeks before takeoff, it's much more difficult to track the moving spheres while flying. These high-pressure multitasking moments are exactly what Schnell and his team want to observe. "Basically, we're trying to see how much we can put on them and still have them stay within a safe flight margin," says Reuter, a UI graduate student in industrial engineering from Coralville, Iowa. Later, after the jet has returned to the hangar, Schnell talks about the future of air warfare and the strains that "complex, large-force engagements" put on military pilots. He explains that pilots today have to do a lot of button pushing in the cockpit and that the use of infrared search systems-used to spot enemy planes-means that pilots must take their eyes away from the horizon to monitor a screen. "All of these technologies require more headwork, more coordination, and more multitasking," says Schnell. Commercial pilots are under similar pressure, he says. Aerospace companies such as Rockwell Collins are looking to develop better flight training and simulation technology, including the use of biometrics and cognitive elements, Schnell says. He is hopeful that the research he's doing on pilot workload in the cockpit will help the company bring enhanced simulation and training tools to the commercial market. "The degradation from a situation where all is well to where aircraft control is lost can be a few seconds," Schnell says. "Tracking cockpit automation takes an analytic mind and is a task that must be learned in order to be mastered." helicopter flying in whiteout conditions OPL director Tom Schnell recently traveled to Europe to fly a Swiss Army helicopter equipped with new 3-D technology that uses a pulsed laser to measure distances and locate obstacles. Photo courtesy of the UI Operator Performance Laboratory. Augmented reality in the cockpit Even the most masterful pilot can run into trouble when landing an aircraft in degraded visual environments, situations that might involve flying dust, sand, or snow. That's why Airbus business unit Hensoldt developed technology that fuses digital and sensor information with natural vision to create "augmented reality." Although virtual reality has become relatively common in the gaming industry, augmented reality-the fusion of virtual with real-world content-is still relatively new in aerospace, says Schnell. The goal of the research partnership with Airbus is to take this emerging technology and make it more accessible to aerospace firms. Early tests confirm that the technology holds great promise, especially in terms of improving air safety. During the testing at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, Schnell and his team attached a SferiSense 500 lidar device, a light-detection and radar camera, to the outside of an MI-2 helicopter. The device emits laser bursts that ricochet off obstacles, sending back information about the terrain, including the location of boulders, poles, electrical wires, and buildings, that could be hidden by a "brownout" (flying dust) or a "whiteout" (flying snow). This information is relayed electronically to the pilot, who wears a special helmet. The helmet uses binocular technology to project 2-D and 3-D symbols (similar to Tony Stark's Iron Man mask) onto the back of the helmet visor. Cameras inside the cockpit track the pilot's head movement and synchronize the computer-generated images to match the pilot's view, no matter which direction they turn. "When a brownout starts, you feel like you've stopped, even if you know you're still moving," Schnell says. "A pilot can totally lose track of his or her position, and things can literally turn upside down very quickly." Just a few days after the desert test, Schnell and his crew hosted 10 U.S. Air Force test pilot students at OPL headquarters to run similar flight vignettes. Such a quick turnaround is a testimony to the expertise of OPL's researchers, who are capable of MacGyver-esque feats of engineering. Basically, they can take any avionics prototype and make it work in just about any aircraft in the OPL hangar. "OPL is unique in that we have flying testbeds that can do things that no one else can do," Schnell says. "The ability of these testbeds to work together to test new equipment and the resulting human response is something pretty remarkable." helicopter landing in brownout conditions The University of Iowa Operator Performance Laboratory is testing new 3-D technology to help helicopter pilots land amidst blowing dirt, sand, and snow. This particular test took place at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Photo courtesy of the UI Operator Performance Laboratory. https://now.uiowa.edu/2017/05/iowa%E2%80%99s-operator-performance-laboratory-tackles-pilot- behavior-air-safety Back to Top Report: 96 percent of pilot-reported drone sightings are totally benign CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE DRONE KIND ARE RARER THAN THEY SEEM QUADCOPTER IN FLIGHT Drones flown below 400 feet are operating in accordance with the law, but may still show up in pilot reports of drone sightings. The Federal Aviation Administration exists to keep the skies safe for people. In the past two years, that task has grown much more complex. The FAA added an unprecedented number of new pilots: 770,000 registered drone operators, which is almost 200,000 more than the 584,000 total pilot certificates held in 2016. As one might expect, that massive increase in people operating flying machine is accompanied by a jump in how many pilots saw strange airborne objects. What didn't change, even as hundreds of thousands of drones joined the skies over the United States, is the number of dangerous close encounters with drones. The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), a hobbyist organization founded in 1936, today published a report examining the reported close calls between drones and crewed aircraft. Looking at data collected and published by the FAA, the AMA report found that, out of a dataset of 1,270 drone sightings released in February 2017, only 44 of those encounters, or 3.4 percent, were near misses or close calls. Further, this is consistent with data provided in 2016 and 2015, where the number of closes calls hovered between 3.3 and 3.5 percent of the total reports. "Back in the 70s and 80s, everything pilots saw was a UFO. Now everything they see is a drone," laughed Richard Hanson, President of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. "Drones are the new UFOs." These reports come from pilots, and one possibility is that in the 2010s pilots are using "drone" to refer to any airborne thing they couldn't quite discern, the way pilots in the past referred to such sightings as UFOs. Besides drones, objects pilots reported to the FAA and in the sightings data include balloons, birds, kites, parasails, and even a "blob." In 2015, when the FAA first released this data, they did so under the headline "Pilot Reports of Close Calls With Drones Soar in 2015", a rhetorical leap that conflates the mere sighting of a drone with reckless endangerment of an aircraft. As the AMA found when looking through the data, many of the drone sightings described perfectly lawful behavior, like flying a quadcopter at 200 feet, well below the 400-foot ceiling required by registered drone pilots under FAA rules. Manned aircraft typically fly at 500 feet or above, so drones operating at 400 feet and below provide a 100-foot buffer in the sky. Hanson credits programs like the AMA's "Know Before You Fly" campaign and education outreach with keeping the percentage of actual close calls so low. "The most effective means of addressing this issue is education," said Hanson. "The vast number of sightings that are people operating inappropriately is because they just don't know any better, they didn't know they weren't supposed to do what they were doing. There are a few individuals who are irresponsible but you find that in any community of people." 1/3 SCALE SOPWITH PUP A model airplane in flight. It can be hard to tell the size or scale of such aircraft in flight by sight alone. Flying model airplanes as a hobby dates back to the earliest years of flight, and was by and large something governed by community and hobbyist organizations. With the advent of cheap drones, congress asked the FAA to adapt its model airplane guidelines to drone laws, a process that's taken years. The AMA has grown into this space, advocating for the rights of both traditional model airplane fliers and newer recreational users, who may buy a quadcopter as a flying selfie stick and don't quite fit the traditional hobbyist model. Beyond the enjoyment of the present community of users, Hanson sees model airplanes and drones as a vital part of the aviation industry pipeline. "Drones are a perfect storm of activity to get people engaged in this industry with its combination of aeronautics aspect, a computer science aspect, and robotics in there," said Hanson, "All throughout the country we use model aircraft and drones as teaching tools for STEM curriculums." But if everyone who sees a drone reports it as a danger, even if the user is operating it correctly, it's harder to get people into the hobby, and it makes limits how law-abiding drone pilots can use their flying machines. This is part of the impetus behind the AMA's analysis of the FAA report. "We have been encouraging the FAA to do their own analysis before they put the data out there so they can put it in context and perspective," said Hanson, "but I'm sure they have limited resources to do that, so while they're not doing it, we've taken it upon ourselves to go through these reports and actually do an analysis with context and perspective." http://www.popsci.com/report-finds-96-percent-drone-sightings-benign Back to Top Airbus looks to upgrades to counter Boeing's new mid-market jet FILE PHOTO: An Airbus logo is pictured on an engine during the delivery of the first series-production LEAP-1A propulsion systems by Aircelle for the A320neo aircraft Airbus family in Colomiers near Toulouse, Southwestern France, April 15, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau Europe's Airbus (AIR.PA) is examining a series of step-by-step improvements to its A320neo family as it prepares to defend its main cash cow against Boeing's plans to compete in a narrow part of the aircraft market between large and small jets. Weeks after delivering its first A321neo, upgraded with new engines, the planemaker has already begun talking to suppliers about enhanced versions called A321neo-plus and, most recently, A321neo-plus-plus, people familiar with the matter said. The clunky working titles deliberately shed little light on what changes are planned, but underscore Airbus's preference for upgrades to existing designs rather than investing in a costly new project at this stage. After a series of major developments, planemakers are mainly focusing on gradual changes and conserving cash, helping to lift their shares. But Boeing (BA.N) is threatening to roll the dice one more time with an all-new plane in the middle of the market. Airbus's so-called A321neo-plus-plus would be rolled out if Boeing does go ahead with plans for an all-new plane seating 220-260 passengers. It would involve a new carbon-composite wing to make the biggest Airbus single-aisle jet cheaper to fly. The 189-seat A321neo has been outselling existing Boeing models by four to one, hurting sales of the Boeing 737 family and replacing some of Boeing's out-of-production 757s. Boeing hopes a new mid-market jet would not only recapture business served by the 757 but address a wider gap between single-aisle jets that seat up to 200 people and twin-aisle jets that start at around 250 seats. Its new design offers the space of a twin-aisle jet in the cabin, sitting on top of a compact cargo area resembling that of a single-aisle jet to reduce drag and operating costs. Industry sources say it is expected to start offering the lightweight twin-aisle airplane to airlines next year and could launch it in 2019 for an entry to service in 2024 or 2025. MIDDLE OF MARKET Airbus has dismissed the threat of such a jet, saying any market gap is well covered by its A321neo, which can seat up to 240 people in high-density configurations. It says its own A310 several decades ago proved that twin-aisle jets can't easily compete in that part of the market. But internally it is working on a series of improvements to the A321neo to try to thwart Boeing's grab for the middle of the market, where thousands of potential sales could be at stake. Three industry sources said the plans include an A321neo-plus-plus with a new wing. Analysts say such makeovers cost $1-2 billion against $15 billion for a new jet. Two sources suggested Airbus could also fine-tune its smallest twin-aisle jet, the A330, in a pincer movement against the Boeing model. But after numerous refinements since it was launched in 1987 that aeroplane is said to have limited growth. One industry strategist said Airbus would at least study the option of waiting for Boeing to show its hand in the middle of the market and then accelerating development of an all-new single-aisle family by 2030, depending on engine technology. "How both companies behave now may set their course for the next 10-15 years," he said, asking not to be named. Airbus declined to comment. As an interim tactical move, Boeing is gearing up to add a larger model to its single-aisle 737 family by launching a 190-230-seat 737-10 version at the Paris Airshow in June. The project took a step forward when Boeing solved a tricky problem regarding the design of the 737-10's landing gear, which needs to be larger than before but fold into the same space. In an interview with Aviation Week, a senior Boeing executive confirmed the breakthrough, first reported by Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-aircraft-idUSKBN185101 Back to Top SPACEX TARGETING TWILIGHT THUNDER FOR MAY 15 INMARSAT BLASTOFF - WATCH LIVE The Inmarsat-5 F4 satellite is loaded into the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and rolled out to Launch Complex 39A. Launch is slated for May 15, 2017. Credit: Inmarsat KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - SpaceX is targeting twilight thunder with the firms Falcon 9 rocketing skyward from the Florida Space Coast on Monday 15 carrying a commercial High-Speed broadband satellite for London based Inmarsat. Blastoff of the Inmarsat-5 Flight 4 communications satellite for commercial broadband provider Inmarsat is slated for early Monday evening, May 15 at 7:21 p.m. EDT (or 23:21 UTC) from SpaceX's seaside Launch Complex 39A on NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All systems are currently GO and the weather outlook is quite favorable at this time. The twilight setting will put on an outstanding sky show - if all goes well. But there are no guarantees. So now is the time is come and watch a launch in person if you have the availability. "Targeting launch of Inmarsat-5 Flight 4 from Pad 39A on Monday, May 15," SpaceX confirmed via social media accounts. The Falcon 9's launch window extends for 49 minutes until 8:10 p.m. EDT. "SpaceX will not attempt to land Falcon 9's first stage after launch due to mission requirements," says SpaceX. The historic pad 39A was previously used to launch NASA's Apollo Saturn Moon rockets and Space Shuttles. The built from scratch 229-foot-tall (70-meter) SpaceX Falcon 9 is set to deliver the huge 6100 kg Inmarsat-5 F4 satellite to a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). Inmarsat-5 Flight 4 (I-5 F4) satellite undergoes prelaunch processing for liftoff on SpaceX Falcon 9. Credit: Inmarsat The integrated Falcon 9/Inmarsat-5 F4 were rolled out to the KSC launch pad on Sunday to begin final preparations for Monday's liftoff. "#I5F4 satellite, built by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, has been loaded into the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and rolled out to Launch Complex 39A," Inmarsat announced Sunday. "The countdown to launch tomorrow begins!" You can watch the launch live on a SpaceX dedicated webcast as well as via Inmarsat starting about 20 minutes prior to the 7:20 p.m. EDT opening of the window. Watch the SpaceX broadcast live at: SpaceX.com/webcast Alternatively you can catch the launch on Inmarsat's dedicated webpage: "Make sure you catch all the live action here": www.inmarsat.com/i5f4 Mondays weather forecast is currently 80% GO for favorable conditions at launch time. The concerns are for Cumulus clouds and Anvil clouds according to Air Force meteorologists with the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base. In case of a scrub for any reason on May 15, the backup launch opportunity is Tuesday, May 16 at 7:21 p.m. EDT, or 23:21 UTC The path to launch was cleared following the successful completion of a critical static hot-fire test of the first stage this past Thursday, May 11. Watch this cool video of Thursday's engine test as seen from the National Wildlife Refuge near Playalinda Beach on the Atlantic Ocean. Video Caption: Static fire test of Falcon 9 booster for Inmarsat 5 F4 launch. Testing of the 9 Merlin 1D engines of a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster on Pad 39A in preparation for launch of the Inmarsat 5 F4 satellite on May 15, 2017 from pad 39A at KSC. Credit: Jeff Seibert The Inmarsat-5 F4 (I-5 F4) will become part of the firms Global Xpress network "which has been delivering seamless, high-speed broadband connectivity across the world since December 2015," says Inmarsat. "Once in geostationary orbit, the satellite will provide additional capacity for Global Xpress users on land, at sea and in the air." I-5 F4 was built by Boeing at their satellite operations facility in El Segundo, CA for Inmarsat. The new satellite will join 3 others already in orbit. Inmarsat 5 F4 will be the sixth SpaceX launch of 2017. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying classified NROL-76 surveillance satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office successfully launches shortly after sunrise from Launch Complex 39A on 1 May 2017 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 1st stage accomplished successful ground landing at the Cape nine minutes later. Credit: Ken Kremer/Kenkremer.com The 7 meter long satellite be deployed approximately 32 minutes after launch when it will come under the command of the Boeing and Inmarsat satellite operations teams based at the Boeing facility in El Segundo. It will then be "manoeuvred to its geostationary orbit, 35,786km (22,236 miles) above Earth, where it will deploy its solar arrays and reflectors and undergo intensive payload testing before beginning commercial service." https://www.universetoday.com/135553/spacex-targeting-twilight-thunder-for-may-15-inmarsat-blastoff-watch-live/ Back to Top Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award Nominations Invited The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation and Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) are accepting nominations for the 2017 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award. Presented since 1956, the honor recognizes notable achievement in method, design, invention, study or other improvement in aviation safety. The award's recipient is selected for a "significant individual or group effort contributing to improving aviation safety, with emphasis on original contributions," and a "significant individual or group effort performed above and beyond normal responsibilities." www.ltbaward.com Nominations, which should include a one- to two-page narrative, can be submitted via the Laura Taber Barbour Foundation website. Nominations will be accepted through June 14. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-05-11/laura-taber-barbour-air-safety- award-nominations-invited Back to Top 2017 CHC Safety & Quality Summit Early Registration Now Open As of today, those interested in attending the CHC Safety & Quality Summit this year can purchase tickets at a discount during the early registration period. Early registration for the 13th CHC Safety & Quality Summit is available through May 31, 2017, during which time reserving your place at the Summit is reduced to $1085.00, compared to the normal price of $1185.00. The Summit will take place at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas, near CHC's global headquarters - a first for the industry-leading aviation safety event. Previous years have drawn upward of 750 attendees or more from around the world. The theme for this year is: "Can we truly manage all the risk: what if the barriers are not as robust as they seem?" Attendees are invited to gather with colleagues and industry professionals to collaborate and share best practices on ways to improve our industry through promoting awareness of safety in human factors. Delegates will have an opportunity to attend an opening day plenary session with presentations by Stephen Carver, Senior Lecturer in Project & Programme Management from the Cranfield School of Management, and Dr. Nicklas Dalstrom, Human Factors Manager from Emirates Flight Operations Training. Attendees will also have the option to register for two post-courses taught by industry experts immediately following the Summit: * The Accident/Incident Investigation course, led by Mark Brosnan, Safety and Compliance Manager, CHC Helicopter, which will run from Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, and * The Human Factors (HFACS) course, led by Dr. Scott Shappell, co-developer of the HFACS system, which will run from Sept. 30 - Oct. 1. To register or learn more about the 2017 CHC Safety & Quality Summit, visit www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com. About CHC For 70 years, CHC Helicopter has provided safe, reliable, cost-effective helicopter service in some of the most remote and challenging environments around the world. With extensive experience transporting customers in the oil and gas industry, supporting search-and-rescue and EMS contracts, and providing maintenance, repair and overhaul services, our dedication to safety and reputation for quality and innovation help our customers reach beyond what they thought possible. Visit www.chcheli.com for information. Contact Information MEDIA Cameron Meyer Communications Specialist +1.214.262.7391 Cameron.Meyer@chcheli.com SUMMIT Irina Sakgaev Safety & Quality Applications Specialist +1.604.232.7302 summit@chcheli.com Back to Top Research Survey Dear Participants, You are being requested to participate in a research study on risk. This study is expected to take approximately 5 minutes of your time. In order to participate, you must be at least 18 years old and a pilot. Participation in this study is voluntary, and you may choose to opt out of the study at any time. If you choose to opt out before study completion, your data will be destroyed immediately. We appreciate your consideration and time to complete our study. Please click on or copy and paste the URL below: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYQv1wQ7ti8p8uE6rjWsAsoTvRe23hvVCR4LSvJheUNMt72Q/viewform?usp=sf_link For more information, please contact: Dr. Stephen Rice Stephen.rice2@erau.edu We appreciate your interest and participation! Dr. Stephen Rice, Associate Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Back to Top Graduate Research Survey I am a pilot who is working on my master's degree at Embry-Riddle. To complete it I need to finish my research project. If you are a FAA Part 121 air carrier pilot will you please take five minutes to complete this survey. It only has six questions and you will be helping a fellow pilot. The survey asks four very basic questions about fatigue and sleep. This survey has no relationship with any airline or with this group. I will not know who took it, it is completely anonymous. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FXRXFZ7 Thank You Kevin Kilpatrick Curt Lewis