Flight Safety Information January 1, 2018 - No. 001 In This Issue Incident: Indigo A320N at Goa on Dec 31st 2017, engine problem Incident: British Airways A319 at Hamburg on Dec 31st 2017, bird strike on landing Incident: Delta B712 at Detroit on Dec 30th 2017, birdie at the controls Incident: Cayman B738 at Grand Cayman on Dec 27th 2017, unidentified odour on board Incident: Canada A319 at Vancouver on Dec 10th 2017, burning vacuum Incident: Kuwait A320 near Kuwait on Dec 28th 2017, cargo smoke indication EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Incident: Rossiya A320 at Chelyabinsk on Dec 30th 2017, door open indication 31-DEC-2017 - Nature Air Cessna 208B Grand Caravan accident: 12 dead (Costa Rica) Sea plane crashes on Hawkesbury River with six people on board (Australia) Preliminary ASN data show 2017 to be safest year in aviation history AIRLINE SAFETY: 2017 WAS SAFEST YEAR IN HISTORY FOR PASSENGERS AROUND WORLD, RESEARCH SHOWS Malaysian pilot arrested in Batam for drug abuse Turkish to take three more 777Fs IAG to acquire Niki for 20 million euros Korean Air To Debut CS300s On Domestic Routes Airbus Receives Billion-Dollar Order From China Aircraft Leasing Air Algerie Evaluating Order For About 35 Aircraft Mitsubishi Regional Jet stays on course for 2020 debut China's next big space mission: the far side of the moon Incident: Indigo A320N at Goa on Dec 31st 2017, engine problem An Indigo Airbus A320-200N, registration VT-ITA performing flight 6E-724 from Goa to Delhi (India) with 186 people on board, was in the initial climb out of Goa's runway 26 when the crew stopped the climb at 5000 feet due to a right hand engine (PW1127) low oil pressure indication and returned to Goa for a safe landing on runway 26 about 25 minutes after departure. A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration VT-INQ reached Delhi with a delay of 7 hours. The airline reported the aircraft returned to Goa due to a low #2 engine oil pressure indication. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b30bdf0&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: British Airways A319 at Hamburg on Dec 31st 2017, bird strike on landing A British Airways Airbus A319-100, registration G-EUPX performing flight BA-964 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Hamburg (Germany), was on final approach to Hamburg's runway 15 when a bird impacted the aircraft. The crew continued for a safe landing on runway 15. The aircraft was unable to depart for the return flight BA-965 and is still on the ground about 8 hours after landing. A passenger booked onto the return flight BA-965 reported the captain made a gate announcement that the aircraft flew through a flock of seagulls on approach to Hamburg and received a bird strike completely destroying one of the pitot tubes. The flight was cancelled and the passengers were rebooked onto other flights. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b309674&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Delta B712 at Detroit on Dec 30th 2017, birdie at the controls A Delta Airlines Boeing 717-200, registration N957AT performing flight DL-1943 from Detroit,MI to Atlanta,GA (USA), was in the initial climb out of Detroit's runway 21L when the crew reported a maintenance issue and requested to return to the field, no assistance was needed. The aircraft levelled off at 6000 feet and returned to Detroit for a safe landing on runway 21L about 20 minutes after departure. The airline reported the flight crew noticed a small bird on the flight deck, which had obviously entered the aircraft during boarding. The captain decided to return to Detroit to avoid a possible distraction. The bird was complimented off the aircraft and set free. The aircraft departed again after about 80 minutes on the ground and reached Atlanta with a delay of 3 hours. At the time of the boarding ambient temperatures were reported at -9 degrees C and winds at 18 knots gusting 23 knots. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL1943/history/20171230/1510Z/KDTW/KATL http://avherald.com/h?article=4b3094e4&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Cayman B738 at Grand Cayman on Dec 27th 2017, unidentified odour on board A Cayman Airways Boeing 737-800, registration VP-CNG performing flight KX-505 from Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA) to Grand Cayman (Cayman Islands), was descending through about 8000 feet on approach to Grand Cayman when the crew requested priority and emergency services on stand by reporting an unidentified odour in the cabin. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on runway 08. The airline confirmed the crew requested priority and emergency services on stand by due to an unidentified odour in the cabin. The aircraft landed safely. A maintenance inspection did not identify any defects or anomalies causing the odour, the aircraft was returned to service. The aircraft returned to service about 14.5 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b301649&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Canada A319 at Vancouver on Dec 10th 2017, burning vacuum An Air Canada Airbus A319-100, registration C-FYKR performing flight AC-234 from Vancouver,BC to Edmonton,AB (Canada) with 88 passengers and 8 crew, was climbing out of Vancouver's runway 26L when the crew stopped the climb due to a strong electrical burning odour on board reporting they had hit a bird on departure. The aircraft returned to Vancouver for a safe landing on runway 26R about 25 minutes after departure. The Canadian TSB reported maintenance action revealed a failed vacuum generator rotor. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ACA234/history/20171210/1650Z/CYVR/CYEG http://avherald.com/h?article=4b2f6099&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Kuwait A320 near Kuwait on Dec 28th 2017, cargo smoke indication A Kuwait Airways Airbus A320-200, registration 9K-AKJ performing flight KU-619 from Kuwait City (Kuwait) to Doha (Qatar), was climbing through FL290 out of Kuwait City when the crew received a cargo smoke indication, stopped the climb and returned to Kuwait City for a safe landing on runway 33R about 45 minutes after departure. A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration 9K-AKI reached Doha with a delay of 7 hours. The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 12 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b2f5681&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: Rossiya A320 at Chelyabinsk on Dec 30th 2017, door open indication A Rossiya Airbus A320-200 on behalf of Aeroflot, registration VQ-BFM performing flight FV-6462/SU-6462 from Chelyabinsk to Saint Petersburg (Russia), was climbing out of Chelyabinsk's runway 27 when the crew stopped the climb at FL080 due to an indication of an open cabin door. The aircraft burned off fuel and returned to Chelyabinsk for a safe landing on runway 09 about one hour after departure. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration VQ-BSR reached Saint Petersburg with a delay of 18 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b3014a3&opt=0 Back to Top 31-DEC-2017 - Nature Air Cessna 208B Grand Caravan accident: 12 dead (Costa Rica) Status: Date: Sunday 31 December 2017 Time: 12:16 Type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Operator: Nature Air Registration: TI-BEI C/n / msn: 208B-0900 First flight: 2001 Engines: 1 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A Crew: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 Total: Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 12 Airplane damage: Destroyed Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: near Punta Islita ( Costa Rica) Phase: Unknown (UNK) Nature: Passenger Departure airport: Punta Islita Airport (PBP/MRIA), Costa Rica Destination airport: San José-Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO/MROC), Costa Rica Narrative: A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan operated by Nature Air was destroyed after impacting wooded terrain. All 12 occupants suffered fatal injuries. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20171231-0 Back to Top Sea plane crashes on Hawkesbury River with six people on board (Australia) Date: 31-DEC-2017 Time: 15:15 LT Type: de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver Owner/operator: Sydney Seaplanes Pty Ltd Registration: VH-NOO C/n / msn: 1535 Fatalities: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: off Cottage Point, Jerusalem Bay, NSW - Australia Phase: Unknown Nature: Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: A float-equipped de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver impacted the water off Cottage Point, Jerusalem Bay, Australia and reportedly sank rapidly according to the ATSB. Eyewitnesses said the aircraft turned sharply to the right shortly after taking off, before crashing. The aircraft carried one pilot and five passengers on a return flight to Rose Bay, Sydney Harbour. The ATSB reports that there are currently no reports of survivors. Local media report three bodies have been recovered. A british CEO and his family have been identified as the passengers. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=203623 Back to Top Preliminary ASN data show 2017 to be safest year in aviation history The Aviation Safety Network today released the preliminary 2017 airliner accident statistics showing an extremely low total of 10 fatal airliner accidents, resulting in 44 fatalities. Updated December 31 to reflect accident in Costa Rica The year 2017 turned out to be the safest year ever for commercial aviation, Aviation Safety Network data show. Over the year 2017 the Aviation Safety Network recorded a total of 10 fatal airliner accidents [1], resulting in 44 occupant fatalities and 35 persons on the ground. This makes 2017 the safest year ever, both by the number of fatal accidents as well as in terms of fatalities. In 2016 ASN recorded 16 accidents and 303 lives lost. Five accidents involved cargo flights, five were passenger flights. Given the expected worldwide air traffic of about 36,800,000 flights, the accident rate is one fatal passenger flight accident per 7,360,000 flights. The low number of accidents comes as no surprise, according to ASN President Harro Ranter: "Since 1997 the average number of airliner accidents has shown a steady and persistent decline, for a great deal thanks to the continuing safety-driven efforts by international aviation organisations such as ICAO, IATA, Flight Safety Foundation and the aviation industry." At the moment of writing (Dec. 31), aviation has a record period of 398 days with no passenger jet airliner accidents. Additionally, a record period of 792 days has passed since the previous civil aircraft accident claiming over 100 lives. One out of 10 accident airplanes was operated by an airline on the E.U. "blacklist". [1] Statistics are based on all worldwide fatal commercial aircraft accidents (passenger and cargo flights) involving civil aircraft of which the basic model has been certified for carrying 14 or more passengers. Consequently, the June 7 accident involving a Myanmar Air Force Y-8F transport plane that killed 122 is not included. When including military transport aircraft as well as non-commercial flights, the total number fatalities would be 230 in 24 fatal accidents. Still the lowest numbers in modern aviation history. The Aviation Safety Network is an independent organisation located in the Netherlands. Founded in 1996. It has the aim to provide everyone with a (professional) interest in aviation with up-to-date, complete and reliable authoritative information on airliner accidents and safety issues. ASN is an exclusive service of the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF). The figures have been compiled using the airliner accident database of the Aviation Safety Network, the Internet leader in aviation safety information. The Aviation Safety Network uses information from authoritative and official sources. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2017/12/30/preliminary-asn-data-show-2017-safest-year-aviation-history/ Back to Top AIRLINE SAFETY: 2017 WAS SAFEST YEAR IN HISTORY FOR PASSENGERS AROUND WORLD, RESEARCH SHOWS That an Air France A380 lost an engine over the Atlantic and landed safely this year is 'testament to the robustness' of the aircraft / AFP/Getty Images But air safety expert says 'It is unlikely that this historic low will be maintained' and warns of risk of electronic devices causing inflight fires In a year when more people flew to more places than ever, 2017 was the safest on record for airline passengers. The Dutch-based aviation consultancy, To70, has released its Civil Aviation Safety Review for 2017. It reports only two fatal accidents, both involving small turbo-prop aircraft, with a total of 13 lives lost. No jets crashed in passenger service anywhere in the world. The two crashes which occurred on New Year's Eve - a seaplane in Sydney which killed six, and a Cessna Caravan which crashed in Costa Rica, killing all 12 on board - are not included in the tally, since both aircraft weighed under 5,700kg - the threshold for the report. The first fatal accident included in the report was in October: an Embraer Brasilia operating as an air ambulance in Angola. The pilots lost control after reportedly suffering an engine failure, Seven people died, including the patient. In November, a Czech-built Let 410 belonging to Khabarovsk Avia crashed on landing at Nelkan in the Russian Far East with the loss of six lives. A four-year-old girl was the only survivor. A much higher death toll occurred in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, when a Turkish Boeing 747 freighter belonging to ACT AIrlines overshot the runway and ended up in a village close to the airport, killing 35 on the ground as well as four crew. In addition, jet blast killed a tourist standing close to the runway on the Caribbean island of St Maarten. The chances of a plane being involved in a fatal accident is now one in 16 million, according to the lead researcher, Adrian Young. But Mr Young, senior aviation consultant for To70, told The Independent: "It is unlikely that this historic low will be maintained; in part, these very positive figures rest on good fortune. Nevertheless, the safety level that civil aviation has achieved is remarkable". He cautioned: "The risks to civil aviation remain high as shown by the seriousness of some of the non-fatal accidents." They included, he said, "the spectacular loss of the inlet fan and cowling of an engine on an Air France A380" over Greenland in September. "That the aeroplane continued to operate safely to a diversion airport and was then flown home for repair on three engines says a lot about the robustness of the aeroplane." The report warns that electronic devices in checked-in bags pose a growing potential danger: "The increasing use of lithium-ion batteries in electronics creates a fire risk on board aeroplanes as such batteries are difficult to extinguish if they catch fire. "Airlines worldwide are training their crews to fight any fires in the cabin; the challenge is keeping such batteries out of passenger luggage." In 2016, 271 people lost their lives in seven fatal events. They included the crash of an Egyptair flight from Paris to Cairo which killed 66, and a LaMia jet carrying the Brazilian football team Chapecoense which ran out of fuel in Colombia and crashed with the loss of 71 lives. The death toll in the two previous years was significantly higher. In 2015, 471 people died in four crashes; they included a Metrojet flight from Sharm el Sheikh to St Petersburg, Russia, which killed 224, and a Germanwings Airbus A320 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf whose first officer, Andreas Lubitz, killed 150 on board by deliberately crashing into the French Alps, In 2014, 864 people died in five crashes, including the losses of two Malaysia Airlines 777s: MH370, whose fate is still unknown, and MH17, downed by a missile over eastern Ukraine. The UK has the best air-safety record of any major country. No fatal accidents involving a British airline have happened since the 1980s. The last was on 10 January 1989; 47 people died when a British Midland Boeing 737 crashed at Kegworth in Leicestershire. In contrast, sub-Saharan Africa has an accident rate 44 per cent worse than the global average, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). In November, Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's director general, said: "African safety has improved, but there is a gap to close." http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/air-safety-2017-best-year-safest-airline-passengers-worldwide-to70-civil-aviation-review-a8130796.html Back to Top Malaysian pilot arrested in Batam for drug abuse A Malaysian pilot flying for Malindo Air has been arrested by Indonesian authorities after failing a drug test at the Nang Hadim International Airport in Batam. - Picture courtesy of Facebook/ Malindo Air KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 - A Malaysian pilot has been arrested by Indonesian authorities after failing a drug test at the Nang Hadim International Airport in Batam, Indonesia. Jakarta Globe reported that the man, a pilot with Malindo Air, tested positive for methamphetamine and was arrested by the country's National Narcotics Agency (BNN). The pilot was caught during a random inspection on 69 air crew members from nine flights at the airport on Saturday. He had 1.9 grams of crystal meth, a meth bong and an aluminium foil in his possession. The pilot is currently in custody at the BNN Riau Islands office, according to the report. Drug users in Indonesia face mandatory rehabilitation and could also face up to 12 years in jail. Jakarta Globe reported last week that the Indonesian Transport Ministry together with BNN will pay more attention to drug abuse cases among pilots. BNN has been tasked to monitor the lifestyles of pilots and random checks at airports will become part of its routine operations. http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/malaysian-pilot-arrested-in-batam-for-drug-abuse#iHQIUzWmFdUKHWga.97 Back to Top Turkish to take three more 777Fs Turkish Airlines has disclosed its decision to purchase three more 777 Freighters from Boeing. The cargo aircraft will be delivered in September, October and December 2018, says Turkish. www.flightglobal.com Back to Top IAG to acquire Niki for €20 million IAG is to acquire the assets of Austrian leisure carrier Niki for €20 million ($24 million) and provide liquidity of up to €16.5 million. The purchase will be made by a newly formed subsidiary of IAG's Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling, says the group. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the European Commission. To be incorporated in Austria, the new subsidiary will operate separately from Vueling initially, says IAG. The new company plans to employ around 740 former Niki employees to run the operation, and further details of its branding and route network will be announced "in due course", the group adds. "Niki was the most financially viable part of Air Berlin and its focus on leisure travel means it's a great fit with Vueling," states IAG chief executive Willie Walsh. "This deal will enable Vueling to increase its presence in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and provide the region's consumers with more choice of low-cost air travel." The Niki assets include up to 15 Airbus A320-family aircraft and slots at several airports including Vienna, Dusseldorf, Munich, Palma and Zurich. Niki, a subsidiary of insolvent Air Berlin, itself filed for insolvency on 13 December after Lufthansa dropped its plan to acquire the Austrian outfit. www.flightglobal.com Back to Top Korean Air To Debut CS300s On Domestic Routes Korean Air has taken delivery of its first BombardierCS300, which is scheduled to be deployed in the carrier's domestic network early in 2018. The first aircraft is due to arrive in Seoul on Dec. 25 and is set to enter service on Jan. 16. A second CS300 is expected to be delivered before the end of the year. Korean Air has 10 of these aircraft on order. Korean was among the carriers affected by delivery delays due to issues with the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine. The first delivery was previously expected in October, and Korean was scheduled to receive four CS300s this year (Aviation Daily, Oct. 25). The airline's early CS300 deliveries primarily will be used on existing domestic routes, while some of the later deliveries may be used internationally. Deploying the aircraft to low-density domestic routes will allow the carrier to shift single-aisle and widebody aircraft to other markets. Korean's CS300s will be in dual-class configuration. The aircraft will have 127 seats, split between 25 premium economy and 102 economy. www.aviationweek.com Back to Top Airbus Receives Billion-Dollar Order From China Aircraft Leasing The new Airbus A320neo takes off for its first test flight at Toulouse Blagnac airport southwestern France Thursday Sept. 25 2014 Airbus Finalizes $50-Bln Order for 430 Jets From Airlines in 4 Nations The transaction for the A320 neo aircraft was done through an amendment to a 2014 purchase agreement, and the European plane maker granted "significant price concessions", the Hong Kong-based leasing company said in a filing Friday. The order comprises 274 A320neos and 156 A321neos, according to CNBC. The low-priced central and eastern European airline said it has agreed to buy 72 Airbus A320neos and 74 Airbus A321neos, for delivery between 2021 and 2026. The ceo aircraft are due to be delivered by 2019 and all the A321neo under this earlier order by the end of 2024. These aircraft will enable Wizz Air to renew its existing fleet and provide additional capacity for further growth. "AerCap is one of the most highly regarded lessors and an additional 50 A320neo Family aircraft to an existing portfolio of 220 is a fabulous endorsement of the world's favourite single aisle aircraft", said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer Customers, Airbus Commercial Aircraft. Under the terms of the New Airbus Agreement, the Company is required to select the engines to be installed on the new aircraft by 30 June 2019. 'Following this incremental order, CALC's total order book with Airbus will increase to 202 aircraft, a remarkable achievement underpinned by CALC's decade-long relationship with the manufacturer. Air China Ltd, China Eastern Airlines Corp, China Southern Airlines Co - the three biggest state carriers - together plan to add more than 600 aircraft through 2020. Wizz Air is registered under the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), the global benchmark in airline safety recognition. http://gkmen.com/2017/12/31/airbus-receives-billion-dollar-order-from-china-aircraft/ Back to Top Air Algerie Evaluating Order For About 35 Aircraft A Boeing 737-800 operated by Air Algerie landing at Geneva Airport on November 20, 2017. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images) Air Algerie has begun planning the next phase of its fleet development, with initial studies finding a requirement for 35 "mostly narrow-body" planes by 2025. About 15 of the aircraft will be used for net expansion of the fleet, while the other 20 will replace ageing models. "We are working on a plan of development maybe until 2025," Air Algerie director general Bakhouche Alleche told me during an interview last month. "We think we need another 15 aircraft [for growth] ... [Including] replacement [units] altogether [the number] is 35 aircraft." Algeria's flag-carrier currently deploys 58 passenger planes: 25 Boeing 737-800s, two 737-700C convertibles, five 737-600s, three 767-300s, 12 ATR 72-500s, three ATR 72-600s and eight A330-200s. Sixteen of those aircraft were delivered between 2014 and 2016, making them unlikely candidates for retirement. These newer units are the 737-700Cs, the ATR 72-600s, eight of the 737-800s, and three of the A330-200s. Among the 20 planes due to be withdrawn, Alleche confirmed that eight will be ATR 72-500s. He said the Bombardier CSeries, the ATR 72-600 and unspecified Embraer models will be evaluated as replacements. All three 767-300s will also be phased out in the near future. Asked about route development, the director general said that Chad, Cameroon, Gabon and other countries in central Africa are on his radar. The airline also wants to begin flights to New York, but cannot do so until Algeria's Civil Aviation Authority is certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration. "[We would launch] tomorrow if we have the right," he said in reference to New York. "The [certification] process, if launched now, will take at least 18 months." https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinrivers/2017/12/31/air-algerie-evaluating-order-for-about-35-aircraft/#447d65c09819 Back to Top Mitsubishi Regional Jet stays on course for 2020 debut President touts design changes as nearly complete, with test flights set for 2018 The planned Mitsubishi Regional Jet remains on track for delivery starting in mid-2020, Mitsubishi Aircraft President Hisakazu Mizutani says. NAGOYA, Japan -- The Mitsubishi Regional Jet will complete another set of test flights in the latter half of 2018 following design changes, keeping Japan's first homegrown passenger jet in decades on track for delivery starting in mid-2020, the head of Mitsubishi Aircraft says. The MRJ's delivery date has been postponed five times, most recently in January 2017 for design modifications that involve shifting some equipment and wiring. But a fresh design is within reach, and Mitsubishi Aircraft has resumed production of fittings for the plane, President Hisakazu Mizutani told The Nikkei in a recent interview. "The wiring redesign will kick off in earnest in 2018," he said. Mizutani said after becoming president of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries unit in April that the design changes would conclude around autumn 2017. When speaking with The Nikkei, he denied that development had fallen behind schedule, saying that everything was going "nearly as planned." The president also has spoken of possibly handing off the first MRJs at the end of 2019, but he insists that date "is ultimately an internal target." The company has promised clients an initial delivery date in mid-2020, and will keep its word, he said. The MRJ needs to receive type certification by that time in order to fly commercially. Around 3,000 hours of flight testing are thought necessary to earn that stamp of approval. Mitsubishi Aircraft says the jet has racked up over 1,500 hours in test flights conducted in the U.S., and Mizutani said additional flights reflecting the design changes will occur in the second half of 2018. But according to Japan's transport ministry, the aircraft is not yet prepared to begin test flights for type certification or undergo review. Mitsubishi Aircraft has roped in orders for 447 of the jets so far. But 40 of those came from American carrier Eastern Air Lines, which was purchased by rival Swift Air in 2017. Though the Japanese company "continues to negotiate" with Eastern over the MRJs, "it is possible they could cancel" the order for the 40 jets, Mizutani said. The aircraft developer ended March 2017 in a financial hole of roughly 51 billion yen ($452 million at current rates), and is borrowing from its parent to continue work on the jet. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Mitsubishi-Regional-Jet-stays-on-course-for-2020-debut Back to Top China's next big space mission: the far side of the moon IN a bid to become the new world leader in space exploration, China is set to go boldly where no superpower has been before. THIS year, China plans to boldly go where no superpower has previously been before - the far side of the moon. In a bid to become the new world leader in lunar exploration, China will launch a pair of missions known collectively as Chang'e 4, The Guardian reports. It is the fourth mission in a series named after the Chinese moon goddess. By landing on the far side of the moon, China will outdo the historical achievements of the US and the USSR. In 2013, China deployed the Jade Rabbit rover for the first soft landing on the moon since 1976. No one has ever attempted this kind of lunar landing before. "The Chinese are pushing back the frontier with such a technically challenging mission," Brian Harvey, space analyst and author of China in Space: The Great Leap Forward, told The Guardian. In June 2018, the first component of Chang'e 4 - a relay satellite - will lift off. The satellite will be stationed some 60,000km behind the moon and will provide a communications link between Earth and the lunar far side. China wants to outdo other world superpowers by landing on the far side of the moon. Once this link is established, it will allow China to send the second part of the mission: a lander to the far side's surface. In 2013 Chang'e 3, deploying the Jade Rabbit rover, made headlines around the world for the first soft landing on the moon since 1976. http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/chinas-next-big-space-mission-the-far-side-of-the-moon/news-story/0bee82ba5e96bdf21f0590521763f37b Curt Lewis surface. In 2013 Chang'e 3, deploying the Jade Rabbit rover, made headlines around the world for the first soft landing on the moon since 1976. http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/chinas-next-big-space-mission-the-far-side-of-the-moon/news-story/0bee82ba5e96bdf21f0590521763f37b Back to Top Book: Angle of Attack NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDER EXCLUSIVELY FROM CURT LEWIS AVIATION BOOKS Second Printing Rushed to Press Finally, the definitive book on the Titanic of aviation accidents, a state-of-the-art jet that couldn't stall until it did and took the lives of 228 Air France passengers and crew. Based on exclusive interviews with the aircraft's manufacturer, the airline, flight crews, families of the pilots, accident investigators and the Woods Hole led team that recovered the missing jet from the bottom of the South Atlantic, Angle of Attack reveals why airlines and regulators everywhere must respond now to critical lessons from this legendary event. AUTOGRAPHED COPIES NOW AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM CURT LEWIS AVIATION BOOKS at http://www.pilot-errormovie.com/book/angle-of-attack Meet CoAuthor Shem Malmquist at the Orlando FAA Flight Safety Division Office FAAS Team sponsored Preventing Loss of Control Accidents event January 11, 2018 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m at Orlando Executive Airport, 365 Rickenbacker Drive. Click here to register. Contact Robert Breaux Phone: (407) 644-4298 FAASTeam@CenturyLink.net for more information on this event focusing on the causes of LOC and What We, as Pilots Can Do About Them. Click here to order Pilot Error, the acclaimed movie inspired by Angle of Attack Click here to order Angle of Attack and Pilot Error Back to Top Today's Photo Photo courtesy of Jay Selman www.jaybirdaviationphotos.com Back to Top ADVERTISE WITH FLIGHT SAFETY INFORMATION & AVIATION MAINTENANCE AND TECHNOLOGY EXCHANGE Flight Safety Information (FSI) Newsletter has been publishing timely aviation safety news for over 20 years. FSI has over 65,000 aviation subscribers on a globally basis. For advertising information and reasonable rates, please contact: Advertising@curt-lewis.com or Call: (817)845-3983 Back to Top Contact Information "Flight Safety Information" is a free service of: Curt Lewis, PhD, CSP, FRAeS, ISASI-Fellow Publisher CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC (Targeting Aviation Safety & Risk Management) curt@curt-lewis.com www.curt-lewis.com www.fsinfo.org PH: 817-845-3983 Fax: 682-292-0835 Twitter: curtllewis01 (Follow FSI on Twitter, Facebook, & LinkedIn.com) Skype: curt.lewis2 Free Subscription: sign up for Flight Safety Information at www.fsinfo.org Curt Lewis & Associates, LLC is an international, multi-discipline technical, scientific and research consulting firm specializing in aviation and industrial safety. 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