Flight Safety Information September 8, 2020 - No. 182 In This Issue Incident: British Airways B789 at London on Sep 7th 2020, flaps problem Lockheed Electra air tanker contacts trees during fire fighting in California Gulfstream G200...- Runway Excursion (Brazil) Elderly man kicked off plane for yelling at flight attendant over mask Production Problems Spur Broad FAA Review of Boeing Dreamliner Lapses A220 operators told to protect avionics against rainfall NTSB releases preliminary crash report for fatal plane crash in Bryan Is FAA's status as leading global aviation authority crumbling? In-Flight Wi-Fi Boom Shows Travel Is Changing in Covid Era American Airlines Plans Sydney Return For November Supersonic passenger aircraft research in line for Russian federal grant PEI Tape Targets Metal Replacement in Aircraft TSA pilots 'self-service' ID checks at Reagan National Airport Boeing Once Considered A 747 Fighter Jet Carrier Chinese rocket booster appears to crash near school during Gaofen 11 satellite launch Free Webinar: Securing Our Skies through Counter-UAS Measures Trinity College Dublin and EASA Air Ops Community Survey on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on aviation workers SURVEY:...GA PILOTS AND PIREPs. Graduate Research Survey (1) Incident: British Airways B789 at London on Sep 7th 2020, flaps problem A British Airways Boeing 787-9, registration G-ZBKO performing flight BA-269 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Los Angeles,CA (USA), was climbing out of London's runway 27R when the crew stopped the climb at FL110 due to problems with the flaps. The aircraft entered a hold over the North Sea to dump fuel and returned to London. On approach the crew advised they needed to maintain high speed, would attempt to deploy the flaps early to see whether they came out normally. The aircraft subsequently landed safely on runway 27R at a higher than normal speed (174 knots over ground) about 90 minutes after departure. A passenger reported it appeared there was an issue with the flaps. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dc51434&opt=0 Back to Top Lockheed Electra air tanker contacts trees during fire fighting in California Date: 23-AUG-2020 Time: 17:50 Type: Lockheed L-188C Electra Owner/operator: Air Spray (1967) Ltd Registration: C-GHZI C/n / msn: 2007 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Minor Category: Serious incident Location: 20 Nm NE of Chico Airport (KCIC), CA - United States of America Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) Nature: Fire fighting Departure airport: Chico Airport, CA (CIC/KCIC) Destination airport: Chico Airport, CA (CIC/KCIC) Investigating agency: TSB Canada Narrative: An Air Spray (1967) Ltd Lockheed 188, was conducting aerial firefighting operations 20 NM North East of Chico Airport (KCIC), CA. The aircraft inadvertently entered smoke in short final and dropped retardant load. Exiting the smoke, flight crew observed trees tops near left wing level. The aircraft performed a second bomb run without incident. Evidence of tree strikes was discovered during maintenance post flight inspection. Aircraft was ferried back to company's maintenance base for repair. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/240919 Back to Top Gulfstream G200 - Runway Excursion (Brazil) Date: 07-SEP-2020 Time: c. 18:22 LT Type: Gulfstream G200 Owner/operator: W.R.V. Empreendimentos e Participacoes Ltda. Registration: PR-AUR C/n / msn: 140 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Substantial Location: Belo Horizonte-Pampulha Airport, PLU/SBBH - Brazil Phase: Landing Nature: Unknown Departure airport: Belo Horizonte/Pampulha - Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport, MG (PLU/SBBH) Destination airport: Belo Horizonte/Pampulha - Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport, MG (PLU/SBBH) Narrative: The aircraft suffered a runway excursion after landing on runway 13, damaging ILS equipment. Aircraft suffered extensive damage under the fuselage, wings (slats and flaps), losing all landing gear. No one was injured. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/241025 Back to Top Elderly man kicked off plane for yelling at flight attendant over mask A passenger has been booted from a US flight after "aggressively disrupting" a flight attendant who had lowered her mask to give the safety demonstration. The elderly man was thrown off the Allegiant Air flight after complaining he had to wear a mask when the flight attendant was not. But according to the airline, the flight attendant had only lowered her mask briefly to speak into the public address system on board. The man was kicked off the flight for 'aggressively disrupting' the safety demonstration, according to the airline. "The passenger was removed for repeatedly disrupting the pre-flight safety briefing which includes reiteration of our inflight face-covering policy," Allegiant said in a statement. "The flight attendant giving the safety briefing lowered their mask for speaking into the PA so the briefing could be understood." Videos posted from aboard the plane show other passengers grumbling as the elderly man was forced to leave. "You're supposed to be wearing a f---ing mask to begin with," one man can be heard saying. The elderly man turned to the rest of the plane and said: "Why don't you all get off with me?" "Captain, can I have a word with you please before I get kicked off?" he said to the pilot. "I just asked someone to put on their face mask. That's all I did." The airline's website states all passengers as well as employees are required to wear face coverings that cover the nose and mouth. Those with medical conditions that prevent the wearing of a mask must have a note from a doctor proving such. Children younger than two are exempt from the mask requirement. Allegiant Air is a domestic airline in the US. According to data released last month, Allegiant has only banned one passenger for refusing to wear a mask during the pandemic. Allegiant Air is a budget airline that primarily services mid-sized cities in the United States. It is the ninth-largest airline in the US. https://www.9news.com.au/world/allegiant-air-mask-policy-flight-attendant-safety-demonstration-kicked-off/f943d99b-c698-48b1-a1a3-184e45b7aece Back to Top Production Problems Spur Broad FAA Review of Boeing Dreamliner Lapses Plane maker says no immediate safety threat exists, but parts of the fuselage didn't meet design standards; eight planes are grounded Production problems at a Boeing Co. BA 1.35% 787 Dreamliner factory have prompted air-safety regulators to review quality-control lapses potentially stretching back almost a decade, according to an internal government memo and people familiar with the matter. The plane maker has told U.S. aviation regulators that it produced certain parts at its South Carolina facilities that failed to meet its own design and manufacturing standards, according to an Aug. 31 internal Federal Aviation Administration memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. As a result of "nonconforming" sections of the rear fuselage, or body of the plane, that fell short of engineering standards, according to the memo and these people, a high-level FAA review is considering mandating enhanced or accelerated inspections that could cover hundreds of jets. The memo, a routine update or summary of safety issues pending in the FAA's Seattle office that oversees Boeing design and manufacturing issues, says such a safety directive could cover as many as about 900 of the roughly 1,000 Dreamliners delivered since 2011. The final language depends on the outcome of continuing reviews by Boeing and the agency, as well as decisions by more-senior FAA officials. The extent of the review reflects that the agency's concerns are significant. Boeing has told regulators a defect resulting from the quality lapse doesn't pose an immediate safety threat to Boeing's flagship fleet of Dreamliners, people familiar with the matter said. The wide-body jets have an excellent safety record and are frequently used on international routes. Regulators aren't preparing immediate action and haven't publicly signaled what steps they might take. But that slip-up combined with another recently discovered assembly-line defect prompted Boeing to take the unusual step in late August to voluntarily tell airlines to ground eight of their 787s for immediate repairs. Since then, Boeing has publicly confirmed the eight planes weren't safe to remain in service. Both defects together led Boeing to determine the eight jets didn't meet structural-soundness "requirements for safe flight and landing," according to the FAA memo, which summarized the status of the agency's examination of the issue. Boeing also determined the second defect by itself doesn't pose an imminent safety hazard. The extent of FAA scrutiny of Dreamliner production lapses and the period it covers haven't been reported previously. The Air Current, a trade publication, earlier reported the factory lapses and August groundings of the eight planes, which are slated to end when Boeing-led teams complete fixes expected to take about two weeks. A Boeing spokesman said the plane maker is conducting a thorough review to understand the root cause of the two defects and is inspecting newly produced airplanes before delivery. The company has fully briefed the FAA and is working closely with regulators, he added. "We are taking the appropriate steps to resolve these issues and prevent them from happening again," he said. The agency's high-level review includes analyses of data and production parts. On Monday, after this article was published, the FAA released a statement saying it "is investigating manufacturing flaws affecting certain Boeing 787 jetliners," and adding that "it is too early to speculate about the nature or extent of any proposed airworthiness directives that might arise" from the probe. The manufacturing slip-ups mark the latest production problems for the troubled plane maker and present a test for Chief Executive David Calhoun and a revamped safety-review process after two fatal accidents of its narrow-body 737 MAX. The crashes took 346 lives. The Boeing spokesman said a new internal safety-review process put in place after the MAX crashes worked as intended. He added that the company took proactive steps to address the problems. Boeing quickly notified airlines with Dreamliners needing immediate repairs, the spokesman said. The carriers include United Airlines Holdings Inc., Air Canada, All Nippon Airways Co., Singapore Airlines Ltd., Air Europa Líneas Aéreas S.A.U., Norwegian Air Shuttle AS A and Etihad Airways, according to people familiar with the matter and aviation-tracking service Flightradar24. A United spokesman said the airline removed a 787 from service immediately after Boeing's notification. ANA said it grounded its plane after Boeing flagged the problem and didn't need the aircraft back immediately because of weak market demand. Representatives of the other carriers didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Stepped-up safety inspections and repairs could disrupt airline maintenance schedules and passenger flight schedules. Deliberations about mandated inspections and how many Dreamliners might be covered have been under way inside the FAA for months, according to people familiar with the matter. Such a directive would target excessive stresses that could cause premature material fatigue affecting the carbon composite parts that fit behind the passenger cabin. A person familiar with Boeing's internal review said Sunday that there is no indication at this point suggesting the defects stretch back to the jet's early years, but said the analysis was continuing. The FAA, according to a person briefed on the agency's deliberations, is focused on identifying how the manufacturing breakdowns occurred, why Boeing's computerized safeguards failed to flag mismatches between the parts that failed to meet design standards and what changes are required to ensure the 787 fleet's continued safety. As Boeing engineers comb through records to identity planes with possible flaws, the FAA already has learned what prompted one of the defects: The plane maker didn't test how it produces shims, or material that fills gaps between barrel-shaped sections of the jets' fuselages, to ensure they meet requirements, according to the FAA memo. The shims are produced at Boeing's Dreamliner factory in North Charleston, S.C. Boeing's process to generate shims was "not validated prior to implementation into the production process" and lacked a quality check to verify the final product "meets the engineering requirements," according to the FAA memo. "Boeing has acknowledged a process that produces nonconforming products" and is working to change that, the memo adds. According to the memo, Boeing's request for more time to resolve some issues "adds to the risk of the fleet." Boeing identified the suspect shims in August 2019 and immediately reactivated a computerized quality check that identifies improper shims that had been turned off, the person familiar with Boeing's internal review said. The second defect, which this person said Boeing detected last month as part of an internal review, stems from variations in the smoothness of the interior fuselage skin near the rear of the planes. When both defects occur in the same location, Boeing engineers determined, the composite sections don't fit properly when fastened together and tiny imperfections could result in a potential hazard under extreme flying conditions, albeit circumstances pilots would rarely encounter, people familiar with matter said. Typically, such structural faults prompt mandatory FAA safety action. Boeing engineers have been reviewing manufacturing records, including high-resolution photographs taken during production, to determine how many Dreamliners delivered since the plane's 2011 debut might contain fuselage defects, the people familiar with the matter said. The episode is the latest example of Boeing manufacturing snafus. In recent years Boeing has had to revamp quality checks to prevent workers leaving debris inside the Dreamliner, its KC-46A military air-refueling tankers and narrow-body 737 MAX jets. Boeing's move to ground the Dreamliner on its own volition contrasts with how the aerospace giant responded to the 737 MAX crashes. After the second accident in Ethiopia in March 2019, Boeing didn't immediately call for the aircraft's grounding as global regulators began issuing flight bans. https://www.wsj.com/articles/production-problems-prompt-broad-faa-review-of-boeing-dreamliner-lapses-11599498118 Back to Top A220 operators told to protect avionics against rainfall Airbus A220 operators are being instructed to modify drain tubing after an incident in which rainwater dripped into the avionics bay and tripped a circuit breaker during taxi, causing an engine to shut down. Rain had entered the aircraft through the main cabin entry door while it was open, according to Transport Canada. This caused drains to overflow and led to dripping on the forward avionics bay below. "Water ingress into the forward avionics bay could short-circuit the equipment in the area and lead to a loss of air-data sources," says the regulator. This might result in a reduction in function and an increase in the crew's workload, it adds. A220 operators are being ordered to modify the aircraft, within 12 months, by removing forward galley slotted drain covers, fitting solid blanking plates, and blocking drain tubing to prevent water travelling from the forward galley into the avionics bay. All A220s are fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofan engines. https://www.flightglobal.com/safety/a220-operators-told-to-protect-avionics-against-rainfall/140066.article Back to Top NTSB releases preliminary crash report for fatal plane crash in Bryan The report says the Walker family was lifting off for a sightseeing flight of the area before it crashed. BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report into last week's fatal crash of an airplane at Bryan's Coulter Airfield. The report doesn't say why the crash occurred, but it confirms that the plane was purchased a week prior to the incident that claimed the lives of David Walker, 54, and his wife Tamara, 51. Also killed in the crash was their daughter, Victoria, 21. The only survivor was Victoria's boyfriend, Luke Armstrong. The report says Walker was taking his family up for a sightseeing flight of the local area around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 30. "According to security video footage at the Coulter Field Airport (CFD), Bryan, Texas, the airplane utilized runway 15 for the takeoff. After takeoff, the airplane descended and impacted terrain. The airplane came to rest on a flat grass field on the departure end of runway 15 on airport property," according to the report. Click here to read the full preliminary report. "The airplane sustained substantial damage during the impact. A Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector and an air safety investigator from Piper Aircraft (PA-24) documented the accident site and the wreckage was recovered to a secure location for a future examination of the airframe and the Lycoming O-540 engine," according to the report. The Walkers were laid to rest this weekend near their hometown in the Dallas area. Armstrong remains hospitalized with serious injuries, according to updates provided on Facebook by his parents. The Walkers are survived by their other daughter, Madeline Walker. A GoFundMe page has been established to help her with any financial related needs during this time. https://www.kbtx.com/2020/09/06/ntsb-releases-preliminary-crash-report-for-fatal-plane-crash-in-bryan/ Back to Top Is FAA's status as leading global aviation authority crumbling? Boeing put the final nail in. Despite stating that the company had full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX on March 12, the following day the manufacturer issued a recommendation to the FAA to temporarily suspend the entire global fleet of 371 delivered 737 MAX aircraft. "Boeing has determined - out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft's safety," reasoned the manufacturer at that time. Long-lasting rift The rift that appeared as timelines of the groundings of the 737 MAX differed, has only continued to deepen as the crisis has kept going. Aviation authorities have indicated that they would not dance to the same tune as the FAA. In preparation to un-ground the jet, they would conduct test flights on their own accord. In September 2019, EASA's executive director Patrick Ky appeared in front of the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN). Ky laid out the conditions for the aircraft to return to service in Europe, one of which was the fact that all design changes proposed by Boeing would be approved by the European agency, without any delegation to the FAA. The decision was made despite a bilateral safety agreement between the European Union (EU) and the US, through which the FAA can approve certain design features of a given aircraft without the intervention of EASA. The second condition, which was "not very popular with our American colleagues," noted Ky, was that the European agency would complete a broader overview of the design of the critical safety systems of the MAX. Due to the bilateral safety agreement, "those are the domains which we have not completely certified ourselves," added the executive director. The last chapter of the 737 MAX seems to be getting more complex, as EASA has confirmed it will test flight the aircraft itself, instead of delegating the tests to FAA. The European regulator was not the only authority to communicate the need for a second opinion. Transport Canada (TC) insisted that it would validate Boeing and FAA's work before giving the 737 MAX the green light to fly above the skies of Canada. "We have our own list of requirements that we sent to the FAA at the onset of this, of areas we will be looking at validating the work of the FAA and Boeing prior to us issuing our own validation approval," remarked Director general of civil aviation Nicholas Robinson in September 2019. United Arab Emirates' General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) chief executive Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi shared a very similar sentiment in the same month, stating that the GCAA would "not follow the FAA" and that it would take a deeper look into the work that Boeing and, subsequently, the U.S. regulator had done. Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) spokesperson noted that the other regulators' decisions would "form part of our thinking" when the time came to make a decision whether to unground the aircraft in Australia. The rift also seemingly created a power vacuum. A vacuum that is possibly about to be sealed. EASA making strides The governing body of Europe's aviation, EASA, seemingly has been making moves to seal the vacuum over the past year. On September 1, its Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with China's CAAC went into effect. The document was signed on May 20, 2019, two months following the second 737 MAX accident and the grounding of the type. BASA allows the two aviation authorities to collaborate and simplify bureaucratic processes, including the certification of civil aeronautical products. The Technical Implementation Procedures (TIP) document, which outlines the details of the agreement between the two authorities, indicates that either of the two can essentially approve an aeronautical product and it would be validated and automatically accepted by the other. Type Certificates (TC) and Supplemental Type Certificates (STC) are included in the agreement, in addition to the fact that if either authority "evokes or suspends a TC or STC for a civil aeronautical product for which they act as Certificating Authority (CA), that Authority will immediately inform the other," reads the TIP. If any action is deemed necessary after an investigation and the suspension is justified, and the Validating Authority (VA) agrees with the CA's decision, the former will also revoke or suspend the TC or STC. The Chinese authority was not the only one that EASA shook hands with since the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX. The European agency signed an agreement with Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) that "will facilitate the validation of airworthiness certificates on aeronautical products between the EU and Japan." These moves should not be surprising. During the same presentation whereupon Patrick Ky proceeded to explain the steps before the grounded aircraft could be approved to fly in Europe, EASA's executive director also highlighted the agency's short-term future strategy. "We want to reinforce our presence on the international scene to support the European Union's external policy and EU's citizen's needs," commented Ky. Prior to 2020, EASA had bilateral agreements with three authorities, namely the FAA, TC, and Brazil's Civil Aviation National Agency (ANAC) - quite an increase, considering the previously small number of bilateral agreements the European authority had. FAA's unstable political ground At the same time, the FAA has been standing on unstable political ground for quite a while now. Its leadership structure was shaky, as between January 2018 and August 2019, the agency had no permanent Administrator. The current administrator Stephen Dickson was sworn in on August 12, 2019, for a five-year term. The current White House office is not very welcoming towards the FAA in sustaining its global lead. "Aviation, as a global business, is directly associated with international relations and decisions that are made there," stated Vygaudas Usackas, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and current member of the Board of Directors in Avia Solutions Group. Such events as the 9/11 terror attacks, sanctions towards Iran and Russia, and the trade war between China and the United States "perfectly illustrate how aviation is dependent on the development of international relations," added Uackas. "Thus, companies invest in human resources not only to ensure their compliance with sanctions but to also understand diplomatic processes and the potential implications to investment projects and after-market support of its clientele," he commented further on aviation's relationship with international relations. "The industry, as a global business, is inevitably affected not only by various natural phenomena, but also the state of affairs in international relations." Tightening budget The FAA, however, has another problem - its budget.s For FY2021, the agency requested $17.5 billion in government funds. The Government will only allocate $14.2 billion, including $30 million to "improve aviation oversight, following recommendations from the Boeing 737 MAX investigations and reviews, and to make investments in the systems that support the FAA's ongoing safety oversight," reads the White House's "A budget for America's future" document. The agency has been fighting an ever-tightening budget, as the government sought to reduce spending. For example, Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13771 in January 2017, titled "Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs." The order had the intention for executive branches, including the FAA, to "be prudent and financially responsible" in spending their funds from both public and private sources. "In addition to the management of the direct expenditure of taxpayer dollars through the budgeting process, it is essential to manage the costs associated with the governmental imposition of private expenditures required to comply with Federal regulations." Furthermore, for every new regulation that an agency would introduce, at least two "prior regulations be identified for elimination, and that the cost of planned regulations be prudently managed and controlled through a budgeting process." https://www.aerotime.aero/rytis.beresnevicius/25834-faa-global-status-leader?page=1 Back to Top In-Flight Wi-Fi Boom Shows Travel Is Changing in Covid Era • Inmarsat's new aviation broadband network saw record traffic • CEO says Intelsat deal for aviation business GoGo makes sense Thousands of passenger planes are still grounded, but in-flight internet is surging to new highs. Data traffic over satellite company Inmarsat Group Holdings Ltd.'s European Aviation Network rose to a record in the final week of August, according to Chief Executive Officer Rupert Pearce. Global airline traffic was still down almost 80% in July compared to the same month a year earlier. "It suggests there's some semblance of normality beginning to return to some segments of the aviation market," Pearce said in an interview. He pointed to a partial recovery in short and medium-haul flights after pandemic travel restrictions were eased. Airlines See Long Wait for Return to Pre-Covid Traffic Levels The data rebound also reflects new internet habits formed under lockdown, said Alexander Grous, an expert on airline strategy and economics at the London School of Economics, who has previously written research on behalf of Inmarsat. "Lots of users are basically two to three times more likely now to connect and stay connected on board than they were at the beginning of the year, before Covid," Grous said by phone. The potential for an airline data boom may reassure the institutions that bought Inmarsat last December in the U.K.'s second-biggest take-private deal of 2019. Lift Off Inmarsat's best growth was from Aviation unit before take-private deal The $3.4 billion acquisition by Apax Partners, Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan was partly a bet on surging airline connectivity. Inmarsat's European Aviation Network has been ramping up capacity since its launch in July 2019. The company partners with terrestrial mobile networks like Deutsche Telekom AG and can deliver up to 100 megabits per second to a plane. The in-flight broadband business was "going gangbusters" when the buyout deal was struck, said Pearce. A few months later, Covid-19 left many airlines fighting for survival. Last month, rival satellite operator Intelsat SA bid $400 million for Gogo Inc.'s inflight Wi-Fi business, in another long-term bet on in-flight internet. Gogo has no satellites of its own and buys capacity from satellite operators to connect its onboard modems and antennas. More deals may be in the offing. The Intelsat-Gogo deal is "a logical move," said Pearce. "There may well be assets that come up that make sense for us to agglomerate." https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-08/in-flight-wifi-boom-shows-travel-is-changing-in-covid-era Back to Top American Airlines Plans Sydney Return For November American Airlines has decided to speed up its restart of Sydney to Los Angeles flights with a non-stop service resuming in November. Previously, the world's largest airline planned a hiatus of the Pacific route until mid-2021. But now, despite Australia's strict quarantine rules and Qantas's decision to ground its international fleet until next year, American Airlines is bringing the flights back early. According to Executive Traveller, starting Tuesday, November 12, the Dallas-Fort Worth-based carrier will fly from Sydney Airport (SYD) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) four times per week. American will use a 777-300ER On the route, American Airlines will be placing one of its 20 Boeing 777-300ERs with its signature Flagship First cabin. Seats on the flight will be available to those exempt from Australia's restrictive COVID-19 travel ban and include the following: You are a medical professional, and your reason for travel is due to the COVID-19 pandemic Your journey is essential for the conduct of critical industries and businesses You are traveling to receive urgent medical care that is not available in Australia You are traveling on urgent and unavoidable business You are traveling because of humanitarian or compassionate needs Your travel is in the national interest of Australia Supporting documents To support your claim for a travel exemption, you must provide the following documents: Passport/s Marriage certificate/s Birth certificate/s Death certificate/s Proof of relationship (for example, shared tenancy agreement, joint bank account, etc. Proof that you are moving to another country on a long term basis such as leases, job offers, and evidence your goods are being transported Proof of your current valid visa, including in Australia and/or overseas Letter from a doctor or hospital about any medical treatment/condition with statements on why travel is necessary Letter from an employer showing why the travel is necessary or that the work undertaken by you is critical Statement or evidence to show when you wish to return to Australia Any other proof you may have to support your claims According to the official Australian government website: "All evidence supporting a travel exemption claim needs to be officially translated into English. You should apply for an exemption for at least two weeks, but not more than three months before your planned travel. Please make only one request per person. Duplicate requests will delay the assessment. If you are not granted an exemption, you should not continue with your travel plans. If granted an exemption, you must take evidence of that exemption decision to the airport." Travel to Australia is closed except for Australian citizens, permanent residents, or those who have been granted an exemption. All people arriving in Australia must self-quarantine for 14-days at a designated facility at their own expense. Below is the American Airlines flight schedule for the SYD-LAX and LAX-SYD flights that start on November 10 from Los Angeles. Sydney-Los Angeles Flight #AA72 (QF309) departs SYD 11:15 and arrives at LAX 06:10. The flight will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Los Angeles-Sydney flight # AA73 (QF310) departs LAX at 10:40 and arrives at SYD 09:00 +2 days. The flight will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. American Airlines and Qantas codeshare During the other days of the week, the flight will operate with cargo only, giving the airline a daily flight to Australia like it had before the coronavirus outbreak. American Airlines 777-300 tail fin Both American Airlines and Qantas have a joint venture agreement on the route, which should mean that Qantas passengers affected by cancelations can rebook with American Airlines. From what we have read, getting an Australian travel exception can be difficult. https://simpleflying.com/american-airlines-sydney-november/ Back to Top Supersonic passenger aircraft research in line for Russian federal grant Creation of a Russian supersonic passenger aircraft research centre has been selected for funding by the federal government. The aim of the scientific centre is to establish a world-class technological knowledge base for conceptual design and aerodynamic analysis of an aircraft with low sonic boom. This work on key technological aspects would also look at material strength, acoustics and vibration, engine efficiency, emissions, and artificial intelligence. "Over the course of its scientific work the centre is expected to obtain breakthrough results," says the Moscow-based Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, which is spearheading the initiative. It says it expects these results to include "innovative" configurations of the aircraft to produce a low level of noise, and the use of augmented-reality technology in the cockpit. The Russian ministry of science is overseeing a national programme to select promising areas of research for federal funding. "Within the framework of this project we plan to work out fundamental problems of future supersonic aviation," says Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute director general Kirill Sypalo. The institute has established a consortium for the research which includes several high-profile organisations - among them the GosNIIAS aviation systems centre, the Gromov flight-test centre, and the Baranov aircraft engine institute. Sypalo says the new science centre intends to draw up new environmental and economic indicators which would make serial supersonic aircraft production viable. Under the federal programme for developing scientific-industrial co-operation, 60 competing applications were received for the grant funding, amounting to nearly Rb15.5 billion ($205 million) over the period covering 2020-24. The programme provides for selection of at least nine research centres to prioritise technological development. Ten centres were chosen, spanning six high-level fields. Supersonic aircraft research came under the field of intelligent transport systems. Other fields included digital and robotic technologies, energy efficiency, healthcare, agriculture, and social studies. https://www.flightglobal.com/air-transport/supersonic-passenger-aircraft-research-in-line-for-russian-federal-grant/140061.article Back to Top PEI Tape Targets Metal Replacement in Aircraft The continuous carbon fiber tape has potential in aerospace applications such as seat frames and luggage compartments. Jiangsu Hansu New Material Co. has debuted s family of unidirectional (UD) composite tapes - H-poly-Stallone-CF7000_PEI - made with continuous carbon fiber and Sabic's Ultem 1000F3SP polyetherimide (PEI) powder. Jiangsu Hansu, a leading thermoplastic composites manufacturer based in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, worked with Sabic to develop the new UD tapes for potential use in high-performance aerospace applications such as seat frames and luggage compartments. As a possible replacement for metal, these UD tapes provide opportunities to reduce weight, improve fuel efficiency and support sustainability-key goals for the aircraft industry. Sabic's Ultem powder offers inherent flame retardance, long-term heat stability, strength and stiffness, and dimensional stability. "Our collaboration with Sabic has enabled us to expand our portfolio from materials for computer electronics into the higher-performance composites space where we are able to meet the most stringent demands of aerospace applications," said Xu Shenggang, chief technology officer, Jiangsu Hansu. "Selecting Ultem 1000F3SP powder allows us to offer an alternative to traditional epoxies widely used in the industry. It provides an exceptional balance of properties, while providing more-efficient processing than thermosets, since curing is not needed." During the manufacturing process, Jiangsu Hansu combines continuous carbon fibers with Ultem 1000F3SP powder, a product offering Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliance and a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 217°C. The easy dispersion of Ultem 1000F3SP powder in water makes it possible to create a homogeneous slurry that is uniformly distributed among the carbon fibers. The resulting composite tape has highly consistent properties, which are critical for demanding aerospace applications. "Our Ultem 1000F3SP powder was a game-changer for Jiangsu Hansu, enabling them to create their high-performance UD composite tapes to address the needs of their customers in the aerospace industry," said Lili Xu, senior business manager, Sabic. "This advanced material helps position Jiangsu Hansu to penetrate an entirely new market sector that offers tremendous growth opportunities. It also underscores how Sabic collaborates with customers to help them succeed." Sabic also produces Ultem resin in injection molding grades. Injection molded components can then be thermoformed with UD composite tape and over-molded with functional elements-all with the same polymer. The advantages of this approach include the potential for recyclability and a high level of design flexibility. Polyetherimide is one of the highest-performing thermoplastics in commercial production. It is an amorphous polymer with a very high Tg (around 70°C higher than polyetheretherketone (PEEK)) and provides excellent impact resistance. It also provides outstanding flame, smoke and toxicity (FST) performance, as confirmed in standard Ohio State University (OSU) tests. https://www.plasticstoday.com/automotive-and-mobility/pei-tape-targets-metal-replacement-aircraft Back to Top TSA pilots 'self-service' ID checks at Reagan National Airport The Transportation Security Administration is piloting at Reagan National Airport a new touchless "self-service" technology that matches a traveler's face with the photo on their ID card. The Transportation Security Administration is launching a pilot program at Reagan National Airport that will use facial scanners - rather than humans - to verify travelers' identities. The program is part of a long-standing push by the agency to automate the process for traveler verification, but it has taken on new urgency during the pandemic, in which avoiding close encounters is becoming the norm, particularly in place such as airports, where large numbers of unrelated people come together. "In light of COVID-19, advanced health and safety precautions have become a top priority and part of the new normal for TSA," Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement that accompanied the announcement. "As a result, we are exploring rapid testing and deployment of this touchless, self-service technology." But the use of facial scans is controversial and has raised concerns among lawmakers, privacy advocates and civil rights groups. They said that even during a pandemic, it is important to make sure that measures are put into place to ensure the technology is used properly and that efforts are made to safeguard any data that is collected. "While I am glad that TSA is developing security technologies to reduce checkpoint interaction while the nation is still in the midst of a pandemic, it is clear that facial recognition technology has not been fully developed yet and still faces privacy and civil liberties questions," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, which has held several hearings on the use of biometrics. "I continue to have concerns that facial recognition technologies have known inherent racial biases and are unable to accurately and consistently process people of color," Thompson said. "It is apparent that facial recognition camera systems malfunction too often to be effective in the field - and these malfunctions are often due to skin color and age." Andrew Ferguson, a professor at American University's Washington College of Law, said via email: "The path to the surveillance state is paved with good intentions. It is also paved with cynical uses of real emergencies to shift power to the government. It is unclear which path the TSA is on." The TSA piloted a similar system last fall at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. At National, the new system is at Terminal B, the checkpoint for Gates 10 through 22, and is open to those enrolled in TSA's PreCheck program. Instead of handing their identification to a TSA officer, passengers who agree to participate will be directed to insert their identification into a machine. The same unit will take a picture of the traveler and compare it with the image on the person's ID. For now, a TSA officer will verify that the images match, but eventually, travelers will be able to complete the entire process on their own, Pekoske said. TSA officials said the photographs taken are used only to verify travelers' identity and are not saved. That element may be key, because a 2017 study by researchers at Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology found that while Congress has passed legislation authorizing the collection of biometric data from noncitizens, it has never explicitly authorized collecting that information from citizens. For more than a decade, Congress has pushed Homeland Security officials to develop programs that use biometrics to track people who enter and exit the United States. In 2016, lawmakers authorized the use of up to $1 billion from certain visa fees to fund the program. In March 2017, President Trump gave the program another boost when he signed an executive order to expedite deployment of biometric screening programs. While the technology has been widely used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to process international travelers, it wasn't until 2017 that the TSA began piloting the technology with an eye toward using it for domestic screening. Pekoske said TSA's ultimate goal is to provide a "safer checkpoint experience, while adding significant security benefits." A study released this month by the Government Accountability Office examined the agencies' use of facial recognition programs to verify the identity of travelers. The report, done at the request of Thompson and Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Gary C. Peters (D-Mich.), the committee's ranking Democrat, found that CBP has made progress in deploying and testing the technology but that it could do more to strengthen privacy principles, including offering more comprehensive information about how travelers could opt out of the scans. In some instances, the GAO found that travelers were not always told scans were optional, and in some cases, those who opted out were told they might have to undergo additional security measures or be barred from boarding their flights. Here's what facial recognition at the airport is really about The GAO report also examined the TSA's use of facial scans, including whether the agency complied with privacy protection principles. During a one-hour observation of the 30-day pilot at McCarran Airport last fall, nine of the 10 travelers who opted to take part in the program had their images successfully captured and matched. The system was unable to match one person because of damage to his ID. (The TSA conducted a separate evaluation of the program and used that information in developing the one at National.) The GAO also looked at pilot programs at Los Angeles International and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International airports. The GAO said given the limited nature of the tests, it was too early to fully assess whether the agency complied with privacy protection principles. Ferguson, the American University law professor, said that of all the facial recognition technologies in use, the type being used by the TSA is the "least dangerous of a dangerous technology." Still, he added, there is reason for caution. "First, facial recognition will come to airports, then train stations, then offices, then stadiums, stores, and schools. In each place, the individual privacy harm is not significant (with appropriate privacy safeguards), but collectively, the harm grows. You can see a future where the face will become the ubiquitous identity card, and that is a frightening future to envision." https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/tsa-pilots-self-service-id-checks-at-reagan-national-airport/2020/09/05/9ac7c716-eca0-11ea-b4bc-3a2098fc73d4_story.html Back to Top Boeing Once Considered A 747 Fighter Jet Carrier The Boeing 747 is a versatile platform that changed the way we consider passenger travel and cargo operations. However, the US military saw an additional opportunity to use the airframe to transport aircraft and deploy them inflight, creating the first airborne aircraft carrier. Why did the military want a flying aircraft carrier? To begin, we need to understand why such a crazy concept got traction in military circles. After all, the US military already had vastly superior fleets of navy aircraft carriers that could transport entire squadrons of fighters around the world. A Boeing 747 would be no match. As it turns out, there were several perks to the idea: An airborne aircraft carrier could fly to areas that were away from the ocean, such a deep within the USSR (Russia), which had a vast, inaccessible interior. An ocean-based aircraft carrier can take days to reach the battlefront; an airborne one could be onsite in mere hours. The military previously had airborne aircraft carriers, in the form of blimps, that carried a squadron of biplanes. However, they were too dangerous to use in bad weather and too slow. While bigger planes could fly around the world (such as the 747), smaller fighters could not. If a 747 could refuel fighter planes in flight, then it would solve the problem of fighter jet escorts being unable to keep up. How would the Boeing 747 aircraft carrier work? For this idea to work, there were several different requirements for the 747 and its 'parasitic fighters'. For one, the smaller fighter planes would need to be small enough to fit inside of the Boeing 747 fuselage. Otherwise, the drag inflected on the fuselage would slow down the 747 and burn too much fuel. But these fighters couldn't be too small. The smaller the plane, the more turbulence would affect it during the docking process - earlier prototypes with other aircraft had managed to dock only three times. For the 747 airborne aircraft carrier (AAC) concept it would carry ten micro fighters in a stacked configuration. The plane would be powerful enough to carry not only the fighters and crew but enough fuel and weapons to refuel them and rearm them. They would use an internal conveyer belt system that could deploy the aircraft from the pressurized cabin into two launch and recovery bays. These bays could be separately pressurized and sealed to allow the internal hanger to remain comfortable. This system would take around 80 seconds to deploy two micro fighters, releasing the full complement in approximately 15 minutes. The entire assembly would carry 44 crew to keep the micro fighters ready to go, with 12 carrier crew, 14 fighter pilots, and 18 logistical mission specialists. The plane would also have a crew lounge and sleeping quarters. Why was it never built? Alas, like all high-concept aviation ideas, this design never saw the light of day. While the first study did show promise, the airforce decided not to invest in it. With the rapid arms race escalating between the USSR and the United States, the concept of a 747 carrier became outmatched by better designs and more powerful fighter jets. The idea of a micro fighter, while impressive, in reality, would not have been able to go up against the latest ground-based (or navy-based) fighter aircraft. Today, the military is still open to the idea but has replaced the 747 with military transports and the micro fighters with drones. https://simpleflying.com/boeing-747-fighter-jet-carrier/ Back to Top Chinese rocket booster appears to crash near school during Gaofen 11 satellite launch • China is expanding its constellation of Earth observation satellites. A Chinese Long March 4B rocket successfully launched a new Earth-watching satellite Monday (Sep. 7) but the booster's spent first stage narrowly missed a school when it fell back to Earth, witness videos show. The Long March 4B rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China, at 1:57 p.m. local time (1:57 a.m. EDT, 0557 GMT). It carried the powerful Gaofen 11 (02) Earth observation satellite, an optical observation satellite capable of returning high resolution images, showing features as smaller than 3 feet (1 meter) across. Data returned by the Gaofen satellite will be mainly used for land surveys, city planning, land rights confirmation, road network design, crop yield estimation and disaster prevention and mitigation, according to Chinese media. Gaofen 11 (02) will also offer information support for the Belt and Road construction, according to Xinhua. It will join a larger suite of Gaofen and other Earth-observing satellites as part of the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS). Few details of the satellite were made available. Footage of the launch of the first Gaofen 11 in 2018 indicated the satellite was a large aperture telescope for Earth observation. Amateur footage posted on Chinese social media site Weibo following the launch apparently shows the first stage of the Long March 4B falling to Earth and exploding into a cloud of orange smoke. The footage was captured near the Lilong village, Gaoyao Town in the Luonan county of Shaanxi province, according to its author. One piece of footage appears to be taken from a school yard with children's voices audible and a plume of smoke visible in the distance. The Long March 4B first stage uses a mix of toxic hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide for propellant. Contact with either could bring serious effects on health. China has three space launch sites situated deep inland, with their locations chosen to provide security during the Cold War. A new coastal launch site at Wenchang is limited to launching new Long March 5 and 7 rockets. Launches from Xichang often see rocket debris fall near inhabited areas. Those areas calculated to be potentially threatened are warned and evacuated ahead of launch. The incident on Monday suggests fewer precautions were taken, though the emergence of footage also suggests locals may have been expecting activity. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) developed and manufactured the Gaofen 11 (02) satellite. Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), one of the major institutes under CASC, manufactured the two-stage Long March 4B rocket. The corporation's main rocket-manufacturing facilities are in Beijing and Shanghai. Today's launch was China's 25th so far in 2020, including a test flight of the Long March 5B for space-station missions and the launch of the Tianwen-1-the country's first independent interplanetary mission. Three of the 25 launches ended in failure. China's main state-owned space contractor said in January it would aim for around 40 launches in 2020, with commercial launch service providers additionally carrying out their own missions. https://www.space.com/china-launches-gaofen-11-satellite-rocket-crash.html Back to Top Free Webinar: Securing Our Skies through Counter-UAS Measures Wednesday, 9/16, 1pm ET Join RTCA and experts from Aerospace Industries Association, US Air Force, Skydio & Indra Defence and Security for a panel discussion and audience Q&A on the current state of Counter-UAS, the status of RTCA's SC-238-Counter UAS Standard, and challenges related to ensuring the safety of the National Airspace System. Our panelists discuss why it is so critical that we get it right. REGISTER https://bit.ly/3gUbgt4 SURVEY: GA PILOTS AND PIREPs "Dear GA pilot, Researchers at Purdue University are seeking general aviation (GA) pilots to participate in an online study, partially funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) NextGen Weather Technology in the Cockpit (WTIC) program. The goal of this study is to evaluate opportunities for speech-based or other "hands-free" technologies that GA pilots might use to submit PIREPs. If you are able and willing to participate, you will be asked to review a set of 6 weather-related flight scenarios and record PIREPs as if you are flying. The study will last approximately 20 minutes and can be completed using a laptop or desktop computer. Participation in this study is completely voluntary. You can withdraw your participation at any time during the study for any reason. If you agree to participate, you will be asked to acknowledge your voluntary participation. Then there are 4 questions about your flight history, 6 weather scenarios, and 4 questions about PIREPs. Responses to the survey will be completely anonymous. We ask that you complete the study in a quiet location free from background noise. You must be at least 18 years of age or older to participate. When you are ready to begin, please click here: https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6lZhv409DcoV8KF and follow the instructions in Qualtrics. Please feel free to share this link with other pilots you know. Email any questions or concerns to Mayur Deo and Dr. Brandon Pitts at nhance@purdue.edu." Back to Top Graduate Research Survey (1) Stress and Wellbeing for Global Aviation Professionals Dear colleagues, I am inviting you to participate in a research project on wellbeing in the aviation industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation has affected aviation professionals around the world, and this research seeks to identify wellbeing strategies that work across professions, employers, families, and nations. All responses to this survey are anonymous. The findings of this research will inform future work by the USC Aviation Safety and Security Program and the Flight Safety Foundation to improve wellbeing for aviation professionals during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Please click or copy the link below to access the survey, and please share it with any interested colleagues. https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cC2nlWEAazl22TX This research will support a treatise towards a Master of Science in Applied Psychology degree at the University of Southern California's Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. The researcher is also on the staff of the USC Aviation Safety and Security Program. Thank you, and please contact us with any questions, Daniel Scalese - Researcher scalese@usc.edu Michael Nguyen - Faculty Advisor nguyenmv@usc.edu Curt Lewis