Flight Safety Information - March 11, 2021 No. 051 In This Issue : Incident: American A319 at Boston on Mar 9th 2021, hydraulic problem : Incident: American A319 at Chicago on Mar 9th 2021, bird strike : Incident: American A320 at Norfolk on Mar 9th 2021, bird strike : Incident: Alaska B739 at Denver on Mar 9th 2021, anti skid problem on landing : Incident: Delta A320 at Fort Lauderdale on Mar 7th 2021, engine fire indication : Report: Continued flight in poor weather led to 2019 Cessna Caravan floatplane crash in Canada : Belgium’s Hard-Worked F-16 Fighter Jet Fleet Has Just Been Grounded : When flight attendants become mask cops, the noncompliant can get grounded : Flights halted at North Carolina airport after drone sighted : Families of Boeing crash victims renew push for FAA changes : Japan limits foreign airlines to 100 passengers per flight : CHC to buy Babcock’s oil-and-gas aviation business : South Korea unveils additional support to airlines : American Airlines says 13,000 workers can tear up furlough notices after passage of COVID-19 relief bill : Rolls-Royce reports £4bn loss as Covid crisis shakes jet-engine maker : US approves new airline from JetBlue founder : SpaceX launches 60 new Starlink satellites to orbit, nails rocket landing at sea : POSITION AVAILABLE: Staff Engineer : SCSI Slovenia in-person and virtual Air Safety Investigation courses : Graduate Survey Incident: American A319 at Boston on Mar 9th 2021, hydraulic problem An American Airlines Airbus A319-100, registration N769US performing flight AA-2022 from Charlotte,NC to Boston,MA (USA) with 79 people on board, was descending towards Boston when the crew reported hydraulic problems. The aircraft landed safely on runway 33L. After landing the crew advised no further assistance was needed and taxied to the apron. The aircraft is still on the ground in Boston about 19 hours later. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL2022/history/20210310/0148Z/KCLT/KBOS http://avherald.com/h?article=4e436401&opt=0 Incident: American A319 at Chicago on Mar 9th 2021, bird strike An American Airlines Airbus A319-100, registration N9021H performing flight AA-1844 from Chicago O'Hare,IL to Jackson,WY (USA) with 53 people on board, was climbing out of O'Hare's runway 09C when the crew declared emergency reporting they had just had a bird strike on takeoff, stopped the climb at 5000 feet. The crew reported they took a "full Canada goose" into engine #1 (CFM56, left hand) resulting in high vibrations and EGT and N2 fluctuations. The crew advised that the engine was now operating nearly normal, but not normal enough to continue the flight. The aircraft positioned for an approach to runway 10C and landed safely about 15 minutes after departure and taxied to the apron. A replacement A319-100 registration N8009T reached Jackson with a delay of 3 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Chicago about 24 hours after landing back. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT ENGINE #1 INGESTED A GOOSE DAMAGING BLADES AND ACOUSTICAL PANEL, CHICAGO, IL." The occurrence resulted in "unknown" damage. http://avherald.com/h?article=4e433453&opt=0 Incident: American A320 at Norfolk on Mar 9th 2021, bird strike An American Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration N121UW performing flight AA-310 from Norfolk,VA to Charlotte,NC (USA), was climbing out of Norfolk's runway 23 when the crew requested to level off at 7000 feet for a while. The crew subsequently indicated they wanted to continue to climb and were handed off to center to climb. However, shortly afterwards the crew decided to return to Norfolk due to a bird strike. Initially maintaining 7000 feet the aircraft turned around and positioned for an approach to runway 23, advised ATC that the bird strike had happened past the departure end of the runway at a height of estimated 300 feet AGL, and landed safely on runway 23 about 25 minutes after departure. The FAA reported "AIRCRAFT STRUCK A BIRD, NORFOLK, VA." resulting in "unknown" damage to the aircraft. The aircraft is still on the ground in Norfolk about 18 hours after landing back. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL310/history/20210309/2340Z/KORF/KCLT http://avherald.com/h?article=4e43449f&opt=0 Incident: Alaska B739 at Denver on Mar 9th 2021, anti skid problem on landing An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900, registration N237AK performing flight AS-1474 from Seattle,WA to Denver,CO (USA) with 105 people on board, was on approach to Denver when the crew requested emergency services on stand by for landing advised they had an issue with their anti skid system which could result in hot brakes. The crew continued for landing on runway 34L using the full runway length for roll out, vacated the runway at the end and stopped clear of the runway for an inspection by emergency services. The aircraft remained on the ground in Denver for about 6 hours before departing back to Seattle as flight AS-1177. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ASA1474/history/20210309/2200Z/KSEA/KDEN http://avherald.com/h?article=4e434104&opt=0 Incident: Delta A320 at Fort Lauderdale on Mar 7th 2021, engine fire indication A Delta Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration N345NW performing flight DL-1748 from Fort Lauderdale,FL to New York La Guardia,NY (USA) with 103 people on board, was climbing out of Fort Lauderdale's runway 28R when upon contacting departure the crew reported a number 1 engine (CFM56, left hand) fire indication, in the background of the transmission the fire bell could be heard. The crew stopped the climb at about 2000 feet, shut the engine down, requested runway 28R and joined a right downwind for runway 28R. The aircraft landed safely on runway 28R about 18 minutes after departure. A replacement A320-200 registration N332NW reached New York with a delay of 15:15 hours. The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 26.5 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4e429be6&opt=0 Report: Continued flight in poor weather led to 2019 Cessna Caravan floatplane crash in Canada In its investigation report released today, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) found that the decision to continue flying in poor weather led to the fatal July 2019 controlled flight into terrain occurrence on Addenbroke Island, British Columbia (BC). On 26 July 2019, at around 9:30 local time, a float-equipped Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft, operated by Seair Seaplanes, departed Vancouver International Water Aerodrome, BC, for a visual flight rules (VFR) flight to a fishing lodge near Port Hardy, BC, with one pilot and eight passengers on board. At 11:04 local time, the aircraft struck the hillside of Addenbroke Island, 9.7 nautical miles from the destination. The pilot and three of the passengers were fatally injured. Four of the surviving passengers received serious injuries, and one received minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The investigation found that the flight departed the Vancouver International Water Aerodrome despite reported and forecasted weather conditions that were below VFR requirements near the destination, and that the decision to depart may have been influenced by group dynamics. After encountering poor weather conditions, the pilot continued the flight in reduced visibility, without recognizing the proximity to terrain, and subsequently impacted the rising terrain of Addenbroke Island. Although the aircraft was equipped with advanced avionics devices (G1000), they were configured in a way that made the system ineffective at alerting the pilot to the rising terrain ahead. Additionally, the pilot’s attention, vigilance and general cognitive function were likely influenced to some degree by fatigue. Although the aircraft was equipped to capture flight data, Seair had not established a flight data monitoring (FDM) program, nor was it required to by regulation. However, air operators are not alone in monitoring for safe operations. Following this occurrence, Transport Canada (TC) did not conduct any reactive surveillance, initiate new surveillance activities, escalate upcoming surveillance activities, or conduct targeted or compliance inspections. If TC does not apply sufficient oversight of operators, there is a risk that air operators will be non-compliant with regulations or drift toward unsafe practices, thereby reducing safety margins. Following the occurrence, Seair contracted an aviation consulting company to conduct an operational and maintenance review, updated its standard operating procedures to highlight the limitations of the autopilot system, and added an acceptable use policy on personal electronic devices in the cockpit. REPORT https://news.aviation-safety.net/2021/03/10/continued-flight-in-poor-weather-led-to-2019-cessna-caravan-floatplane-crash-in-canada/ Belgium’s Hard-Worked F-16 Fighter Jet Fleet Has Just Been Grounded A dramatic engine failure last month means the Netherlands has had to step in to protect Belgian airspace. Belgium’s entire fleet of F-16 fighter jets, the backbone of its combat air force, has been grounded since yesterday after one of the Vipers experienced problems with its Pratt & Whitney F100 engine. As of today, the air defense of the European country has now been taken over by the neighboring Netherlands. “While technicians work hard to get our Vipers airborne asap and the Belgium Control and Reporting Center monitors the airspace above Belgium 24/7, the Koninklijke Luchtmacht [Royal Netherlands Air Force] will temporarily take over the Quick Reaction Alert from the Belgian Air Force to safeguard the BENELUX skies as from 12 o’clock,” the Belgian Air Force tweeted today. Belgium’s F-16 grounding order follows a February 11 incident at Florennes Air Base, in which one of the jets had engine problems on takeoff and immediately made a precautionary landing, leaving some debris within the confines of the base and on the end of the runway. The F-16 in question had a “nozzle burn through,” in which the engine’s “turkey feather” exhaust petals begin to disintegrate due to excessive temperatures. The engine of the affected aircraft was dismantled and sent to the Patria Belgium Engine Center, the contractor that handles maintenance of the powerplants. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39691/belgiums-hard-worked-f-16-fighter-jet-fleet-has-just-been-grounded When flight attendants become mask cops, the noncompliant can get grounded Since July 29, 2020, when the airline I work for began requiring face coverings for passengers on all flights, flight attendants have been tasked with the role of in-flight enforcer. If a passenger lowers her mask to eat or drink and forgets to raise the mask afterward, if he allows the mask to slip from his face (even while sleeping), lowers the mask to talk with seatmates or purposely removes the mask and refuses to put it on again, we are forced to take appropriate action. At my airline — one of the world’s largest — flight attendants are required to give a “verbal reminder” to maskless passengers. I have issued dozens, if not hundreds, of verbal reminders since the mask policy began, so I can tell you the vast majority of passengers comply promptly, if not apologetically. The need for face coverings is not lost on reasonable flyers, who understand that the mask mandate was issued to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 on an airplane (where social distancing is physically impossible). Nevertheless, as is the case in the air and on the ground, some folks are not reasonable. I have been glared at, scoffed at, derided and ignored while issuing verbal reminders, Still, most who respond in this manner rise above their objections and put on the mask. But every once in a while a passenger refuses. Although flight attendants are responsible for approaching maskless passengers, we often do so at the behest of a fellow passenger who witnessed the transgression. On many occasions I’ve been approached by someone who whispered, “The guy in 22D isn’t wearing a mask,” or “Will you please tell the woman sitting next to me to put on her damn mask?” Most passengers are unwilling to confront their fellow travelers and prefer to have a flight attendant deal with the problem. That’s an understandable and even preferred course of action. Letting a uniformed airline representative handle the conflict often reduces the chance that it will turn ugly. So when someone commits a mask infraction, be it accidentally or on purpose, a flight attendant will approach. If the passenger complies, all is well. But if she or he refuses, a second crew member will try to impress upon the passenger the need for mask compliance. Once we’ve made at least three unsuccessful attempts, preferably by three different crew members (so that the passenger doesn’t feel besieged by one particular employee), the captain must be notified. See how the Mazda CX-30 measures up to the competition and explore model packages. If the plane is at the departure gate during the noncompliance event, a customer service agent will board and give the maskless passenger an ultimatum: Wear the mask or be escorted from the aircraft. Since the mask policy began, more than 3,000 noncompliant passengers have been banned by U.S. carriers. Recently, while working a flight from Miami to Saõ Paulo, Brazil, my crew was forced to remove one such passenger. As mandated by the airline, the passenger wore a mask while boarding the aircraft. But after claiming his seat in the main cabin, the man inexplicably removed his mask. Concerned passengers alerted flight attendants. We issued three verbal reminders to the noncompliant passenger. Each time he refused to comply. The gate agent boarded the aircraft and issued the ultimatum. Moments later, after ignoring the agent’s pleas, the passenger was removed from the aircraft. Our flight left for Saõ Paulo without him. When a mask issue occurs after takeoff, the crew’s options can be more complicated. Depending on the severity of the conflict, the captain may decide to divert the flight in order to remove the problem passenger. This is precisely what happened Sept. 15 on a United Airlines flight from Newark, N.J., to Las Vegas. According to news reports, a male passenger became disruptive while refusing to comply with the airline’s face-covering policy. As a result, the flight diverted to Omaha. The plane was met by law enforcement officers who escorted the passenger off the aircraft. Approximately 30 minutes later the flight took off and flew on to Las Vegas. Until recently, the most severe punishment for a noncompliant passenger was his or her removal from the aircraft and a temporary ban from flights. But now the Transportation Security Agency will implement President Biden’s executive order requiring travelers to wear face coverings in airports and on commercial flights. Failure to do so can result in fines from $250 to $1,500 or more, depending the severity of the transgression. (Children younger than 2 are exempt.) Scarves, bandannas, ski masks and balaclavas are not allowed. Neither are face masks with slits, exhalation valves or punctures. Passengers with disabilities who are unable to wear a mask must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure or proof of recovery from COVID-19. Flight attendants are not cops, though we’re occasionally put in a position to act like one. During my 35-year career, I’ve broken up fistfights, wrestled assailants to the aircraft floor and applied flex cuffs to more than one out-of-control passenger. Giving verbal reminders to maskless passengers has become a necessary part of the job. No longer do we cite “airline policy” as a reason to comply, however. Noncompliant passengers are now breaking the law. https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2021-03-10/flight-attendants-enforce-covid-mask-rules-airplanes Flights halted at North Carolina airport after drone sighted GREENSBORO, N.C. — A drone disrupted flights from a North Carolina airport, prompting an investigation from the Federal Aviation Administration and local law enforcement on where it came from and who owned it. According to the FAA, the drone was seen flying over and around Piedmont Triad International Airport between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Tuesday, news sources reported. Air traffic controllers remained in constant communication with local officials as they searched for the drone operator, the FAA said. Controllers switched runways and periodically suspended flights while the drone was in the area. Flights were also held on the ground and one flight headed to Greensboro was diverted to another airport. The drone was seen at multiple locations over airport property, according to the FBI. Multiple law enforcement agencies and fire department officials worked without success to locate the drone’s operator. https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/flights-halted-north-carolina-airport-after-drone-sighted/EYW3ITVQRVEDFCWPEXVGGGDCDQ/ Families of Boeing crash victims renew push for FAA changes Relatives of some of the passengers who died in the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane will mark Wednesday’s two-year anniversary of the disaster by seeking a reversal of government orders that let Boeing 737 Max jets fly again Relatives of some of the passengers who died in the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines marked Wednesday's two-year anniversary of the disaster by seeking the improbable: a reversal of government orders that let Boeing 737 Max jets fly again. They are also seeking the removal of several top officials at the Federal Aviation Administration, which certified the plane and let it keep flying after another Max crashed in Indonesia, five months before the Ethiopian accident. A total of 346 people died in both crashes. The family members say they are trying to prevent a third crash. The parents of 24-year-old Samya Rose Stumo met with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for nearly an hour, then joined other families at a vigil outside FAA headquarters in Washington. In Toronto, the family of Danielle Moore, who was also 24, planned to protest outside the U.S. consulate. FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson has personally vouched for the plane's safety. A military and airline pilot before heading FAA, Dickson flew a Max in September. Boeing says Max jets have made 9,000 flights for 14 airlines without incident since returning to service late last year. A longtime FAA engineer wrote to Stumo's parents last month and detailed how a critical flight system was approved despite what he considered a shocking design flaw: It could change the plane's trajectory if a single sensor failed. Joe Jacobsen told the family that FAA delegated the review of most aspects of the flight system to a small number of Boeing engineers. Jacobsen said he and other FAA engineers didn't know about the design of the system, called MCAS, until after the first crash, and that if they knew, they would have flagged the problem. “Please accept my deepest apologies for my inability to stop the chain of events that led to the tragic loss of your beautiful daughter,” Jacobsen wrote to Michael Stumo and Nadia Milleron. Boeing had to revise the system before the FAA and other regulators would allow the plane to fly again, but Jacobsen wrote that more needs to be done — Boeing merely improved the plane's design from an F to a D. His letter was first reported by the Seattle Times. Milleron said it took her hours to read Jacobsen's email, which prints out at five pages — she kept stopping, pacing the room, thinking about her daughter. “It's just really hard to read these things," she said. “You wish you could reach back in time and change it so Samya could be alive and the other people could be alive.” Michael Stumo said the email made him more certain that top FAA officials, particularly the head of the agency's safety office, must go. The couple and their son asked Buttigieg to remove at least four officials including Dickson and the head of the FAA's aviation safety office. A Transportation Department spokesperson said Buttigieg expressed his sympathy to the family and believes the FAA needs to put in effect changes that Congress made last year in its oversight of aircraft manufacturers. The FAA referred to previous comments including a video Dickson made in November, when he announced the end of the 20-month grounding of the Max. Dickson said changes demanded by his agency fixed the problems that played a role in the crashes, and added that he was “100% comfortable with my family flying on it.” In December, Congress approved changes in FAA's process for certifying new planes. The FAA will still rely on Boeing engineers to make critical safety assessments, but will be able to choose those employees and communicate directly with them. Last month, the Transportation Department’s inspector general criticized the FAA's oversight of Boeing in a blistering report. The watchdog issued 14 recommendations to “restore confidence in FAA’s certification process and ensure the highest level of safety.” The FAA said it will follow the recommendations, but it will take nearly five years. The grief of relatives of other passengers has not eased in the last two years either. Nor were they satisfied in January when Chicago-based Boeing agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement with the Justice Department to avoid criminal prosecution for fraud. The company admitted that two former test pilots hid information about changes to MCAS from the FAA. “The truth is that 346 people are now dead because Boeing cut corners, lied to regulators, and simply considers this the cost of doing business,” said Yalena Lopez-Lewis, whose husband Antoine Lewis, died on the Ethiopian plane. “This crash should never have happened, and the people at Boeing should be held accountable for their terrible actions,” said Linet Mwirigi, whose husband Cedrick Asiavugwa was also on the Ethiopian Airlines Max. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/families-boeing-crash-victims-renew-push-faa-76363702 Japan limits foreign airlines to 100 passengers per flight Border clampdown restricts domestic carriers to 3,400 arrivals per week TOKYO -- The Japanese government has asked airlines to slash the number of passengers they bring into the country from overseas during the typically busy fiscal year-end travel period, amid concern about the spread of new coronavirus variants. The transport ministry has told domestic carriers to limit arrivals to 3,400 per week, while foreign airlines are restricted to 100 per flight. This marks a return to the sort of strict caps seen last April, in the early days of the pandemic, after a gradual loosening that had recently allowed domestic airlines to bring in a total of 3,000 flyers per day at Narita and Haneda airports. Non-Japanese carriers had been permitted 300 to passengers per flight. The tighter limits are in response to the emergence of more contagious variants of the virus around the world. The government is requiring all travelers from countries where new variants have been confirmed to self-isolate at designated facilities for three days. With these facilities growing tight on capacity, the transport ministry notified airlines of the new caps Monday at the health ministry's request. The change aims to "ensure that quarantine measures are properly carried out," Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference Wednesday. Japan Airlines has suspended all arrivals in Japan from France, the U.K. and Germany until the end of March, aside from transfers passing through the country. All Nippon Airways has stopped taking new reservations for international flights arriving in Japan between March 8 and March 21, and has said it may continue doing so after that period. Low-cost carrier Peach Aviation -- which, like ANA, is a subsidiary of ANA Holdings -- has stopped accepting reservations for one flight each between Taiwan to Kansai International Airport and Narita. JAL reported 26,041 passengers on international flights in February, while ANA had 45,572 in January. A prolonged cut to traffic could weigh heavily on carriers already facing a tough environment. The clampdown could also pose problems for other Japanese businesses. Many companies, such as Nissan Motor, say they should not be significantly affected as they have largely banned business trips abroad. But the transition into the new fiscal year from late March into April often brings major personnel transfers and reshuffles that could be hampered by travel restrictions. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/Japan-limits-foreign-airlines-to-100-passengers-per-flight CHC to buy Babcock’s oil-and-gas aviation business Offshore transport giant CHC has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Babcock International’s oil-and-gas aviation business, the two companies have announced. Headquartered in Aberdeen, U.K., Babcock’s oil-and-gas division provides offshore crew transportation services in the U.K., Denmark and Australia. It employs more than 500 people and has a fleet of around 30 aircraft. Few details have been released at this point — including the fee — but Babcock will keep hold of its other aviation business divisions: defense and emergency services (which spans emergency medical services, search-and-rescue, and firefighting). The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. The move represents the latest consolidation of fleet operators in the struggling offshore market, following on from Bristow’s merger with Era last year. The announcement isn’t totally unexpected — Babcock had been public in the difficulties it was facing in its oil-and-gas business over the last 18 months. In a February 2020 trading update, Babcock’s then-CEO Archie Bethel detailed a wide-ranging restructuring of its oil-and-gas business in response to market challenges, adding that “we don’t intend to invest further, or stay in that market.” He said the pressure on the business was caused by tougher competition, with Bristow, CHC and PHI all emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with reduced debts and written down assets. “This is effectively resetting global market pricing levels,” he explained. Then, in a quarterly earnings call with investors in November 2020, Babcock group finance director Franco Martinelli described the company’s civil aviation business as its “main weakness.” “Oil-and-gas is a tough breakeven market in normal times, but the lower flying hours that Covid-19 created led to a loss in the period,” he said “Covid-19 had a range of impacts from lower flying hours through to additional costs such as PPE and refitting aircraft. It also reduced efficiency, for example, with reduced aircraft capacity.” As of June 2020, Babcock had substantially reduced its fleet, retiring leases on seven of 16 S-92s and five of six EC225s. Among its more recent offshore contract wins was the 2019 award of a five-year agreement to fly two AW139s offshore for Santos in Australia; and a five-year contract for more than 100 flights a month to offshore rigs from Sumburgh, Shetland, for EnQuest, TAQA and CNR International. https://verticalmag.com/news/chc-to-buy-babcocks-oil-and-gas-aviation-business/ South Korea unveils additional support to airlines South Korea’s government has unveiled additional measures to help the country’s airlines as they wrestle with the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on demand, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The government is also reportedly considering providing further financing to low-cost airlines of around KRW200 billion won (USD175 million). One of the measures the ministry announced in the March 3 statement was to continue to provide a discount on airport usage fees until June, totalling KRW45.7 billion (USD40 million). In addition, “for fair competition between national airlines and foreign airlines,” it will review cuts in aircraft acquisition tax and property tax, “which have continuously been requested by the industry.” Meanwhile, the confiscation of unused slots in 2021 will be postponed “so that airlines can quickly reimagine their business strategies for the post-coronavirus period.” In addition, slots at South Korean airports that non-Korean carriers are not using will be temporarily allocated to domestic flights operated by Korean airlines. Normally, South Korea’s aviation laws require airlines to use 80% of their airport slots each season and operate allocated routes at least 20 weeks per year. Passenger numbers on international routes fell by 84% in 2020 to 14.2 million, from 90.4 million the previous year, according to the ministry. Further, the ministry pledged to speed up permits for cargo operations from three days to the same day, with each airline now responsible for conducting its own risk assessment for the cargo and for submitting “evidence of the results of the risk-reduction measures.” Moreover, the ministry said it would give “customised recovery support for each airline.” For example, in order for low-cost carriers to become competitive on short-haul routes such as to East Asia, when they resume, “it is necessary to provide additional funding, which is temporarily insufficient.” Airlines will be able to discuss future support plans with related ministries for any shortfall of funds needed after the first quarter of 2021. Sources told local media that this support could amount to KRW200 billion for low-cost carriers Jeju Air, Jin Air, and T'way Air, as these LCCs are expected to have lost revenues by this amount by the third quarter of this year. Asiana Airlines’ low-cost units Air Busan and Air Seoul would obtain funding through their parent company if necessary, the sources added. In the case of start-ups Aero K and Air Premia, they have been given until the end of this year to launch operations, extended from March. Finally, the ministry promised to expand beyond Seoul Incheon permission for airlines to conduct sightseeing flights, a new trend in Korea that takes fee-paying passengers above scenic parts of the country before returning to the same airport. https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/101428-south-korea-unveils-additional-support-to-airlines American Airlines says 13,000 workers can tear up furlough notices after passage of COVID-19 relief bill American Airlines is "happily" canceling over 10,000 furloughs as Congress' new COVID-19 relief bill heads to President Biden's desk. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom told employees on Wednesday that after Congress passed the new $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that includes more funding for the Payroll Support Program, it will be canceling 13,000 furloughs. "For our 13,000 colleagues who received Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices last month, those are happily canceled - you can tear them up!" the company said. American Airlines had previously informed 13,000 employees that they would be furloughed without more federal assistance, according to CNN. Biden is planning to sign the new relief package, the American Rescue Plan, on Friday. It includes $15 billion for the airline industry, NPR notes. When Biden signs the relief package, American Airlines said this will "extend" its commitment that all U.S. team members will "continue to receive pay and benefits through" Sept. 30. The company also told employees, "if you see your local congressional representative on a flight, be sure to thank her or him for their work this past year and for recognizing the noble work you all do every day." White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain quickly celebrated news of the canceled American Airlines furloughs on Wednesday, tweeting in response, "Help is here." Overall, CNN writes, Congress' relief bill is "expected to save 27,000 airline workers from furloughs." https://news.yahoo.com/american-airlines-says-13-000-223339978.html Rolls-Royce reports £4bn loss as Covid crisis shakes jet-engine maker Air travel restrictions forced firm to burn through £4.2bn in cash to keep afloat as revenues collapsed Rolls-Royce has reported a loss of £4bn for 2020 as the jet-engine manufacturer’s business was shaken by the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 100 manufacturer revealed it burned through £4.2bn in cash during the year as revenues from servicing passenger aircraft collapsed. It expects to burn through a further £2bn this year. Rolls-Royce’s revenues were among the most vulnerable to the pandemic because of its reliance on making and servicing jet engines for passenger aircraft. In the year before the pandemic its civil aerospace business brought in £8bn in revenues, compared with £5bn in 2020. The underlying loss before tax of £4bn compared with a profit of £583m the year before. The underlying loss partly reflected charges related to financing foreign exchange as it adjusted to lower than expected dollar earnings. Losses before tax for 2020 were £2.9bn, including £1.4bn in write-offs and nearly £500m in redundancy costs. Rolls-Royce scrambled last year to cut costs and raise cash when the extent of the pandemic became clear. That included cutting 7,000 jobs out of 19,000 across its global civil aerospace division, in what it said was the largest restructuring in the venerable company’s recent history. It has also negotiated two-week shutdowns of its engine factories this summer in an effort to save more cash. The hours flown by planes with Rolls-Royce engines slumped to only 43% of 2019 levels. In 2021, hours flown are expected to improve only gradually, to 55% of 2019 levels. Rolls-Royce said it expected earnings to accelerate in the second half of this year, but even during 2022 it expected flying hours to be a fifth lower than 2019 as the slow recovery in international travel continues, in part because of new variants of the virus. Warren East, Rolls-Royce’s chief executive, said the job losses were “regrettable, but unfortunately very necessary”. East added that the company had made a “good start” on raising more money through sales of parts of its business. East said the company would try to continue investing in lower-carbon technologies. By 2023, Rolls-Royce plans to devote 20% of its research and development budget to small modular reactors, hybrid, hydrogen and electric power technologies, as part of its plans to reduce its carbon footprint, up from 7% now. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/11/rolls-royce-reports-4bn-loss-as-covid-crisis-shakes-jet-engine-maker US approves new airline from JetBlue founder WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Transportation Department has granted approval for a new airline led by David Neeleman, who started JetBlue Airways two decades ago. Breeze Aviation Group has up to one year to begin flights using up to 22 planes, the company said Wednesday. According to an application submitted last year, the airline plans to fly to “neglected, forgotten markets” using smaller planes to reduce costs. Company representatives said that many parts of the country have seen air service decline as big airlines focus on major airports. Neeleman, 61, co-founded Morris Air, which was sold to Southwest Airlines in 1993. In 1998, he started New York-based JetBlue and served as its CEO until 2007, then left to found Brazilian airline Azul, where he remains chairman after stepping down as CEO in 2017. A company filing in September reported that Neeleman owns 36% of Breeze and is its CEO. Breeze plans to start service using 118-seat Embraer jets that it will lease from Azul and aircraft-leasing companies. Breeze said it has agreed to buy 60 Airbus 220-300 planes, which hold 130 to 160 passengers. Breeze will be headquartered in Darien, Connecticut, while flight operations will be based in Salt Lake City. Maintenance work will be done in Islip, New York, and at an Embraer facility in Nashville, Tennessee, according to the filing. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-approves-airline-jetblue-founder-183419787.html SpaceX launches 60 new Starlink satellites to orbit, nails rocket landing at sea • It was the 6th launch and landing for this Falcon 9 first stage. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit up the predawn sky early this morning (March 11) as it carried a new batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit, before nailing its landing on a floating platform at sea. The two-stage Falcon 9 booster lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 3:13 a.m. EST (0813 GMT). About 8.5 minutes later, the rocket's reusable first stage returned to Earth for its sixth landing, touching down on one of SpaceX's drone ships. The floating platform, called "Just Read the Instructions," was stationed out in the Atlantic Ocean, about 400 miles (630 kilometers) downrange. It was a clear night in Florida for the mission's second attempt. The launch was originally planned to occur on Monday night (March 9) but was pushed back so SpaceX could conduct more prelaunch checkouts. Weather forecasters at the U.S. Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron predicted a 90% chance of favorable conditions for launch this morning, and Mother Nature delivered. This latest liftoff marked SpaceX's seventh mission of 2021 and the company's 21st 60-satellite Starlink launch overall. It starred one of the better known Falcon 9 first stages in the fleet — B1058. Emblazoned with a now-sooty NASA worm logo, B1058 is the booster that delivered two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in May of last year, returning orbital human spaceflight to U.S. soil with SpaceX's Demo-2 mission. The veteran launcher also delivered a cargo Dragon spacecraft to the ISS, a communications satellite for South Korea's military and the most satellites ever launched on a single mission (Transporter-1). Today, B1058 carried its second stack of Starlink satellites. The predawn spectacle marked the 110th overall flight of a Falcon 9 rocket and the 56th reflight of a Falcon 9 first stage. It was the sixth mission for this particular booster, and SpaceX set a new record for fastest turnaround time for a rocket with this many flights under its belt. B1058 last flew on Jan. 24, and it blasted off again from the same launch pad this morning, just 45 days later; the previous record for such a veteran booster was 59 days. SpaceX relies heavily on its fleet of veteran rockets, which have enabled the company to keep up with its launch ambitions. However, SpaceX has always stressed that, while booster recovery is beneficial, the main goal of each mission is to successfully deliver the payload to space. The company recovered a first stage for the first time in 2015, when a Falcon 9 booster touched down on terra firma at one of the company's Florida landing pads. Ever since, SpaceX has been striving to better understand the recovery process and how much wear and tear each launch puts on the rocket. With each recovery attempt, the company has been able to refine its process and reduce times between flights. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has said that his long-term vision involves rockets that resemble airplanes, in the sense that they lift off, land, refuel and lift off again in short order. Musk has said, for example, that a goal of SpaceX is to launch, land, and then launch and land the same rocket again within 24 hours — a milestone that has not yet been reached. While SpaceX makes landing rockets look easy, a recent anomaly shows that it's not always a slam dunk. On Feb. 15, the company broke a 24-booster recovery streak when a Falcon 9 first stage, designated B1059, failed to land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean after launching a different batch of Starlink satellites into orbit. The mishap was attributed to "heat damage," with company officials elaborating on that during a recent teleconference. Benji Reed, SpaceX's senior director for human spaceflight, said that one of the booster's protective engine covers failed, allowing hot gases from the engine to leak into places it wasn't supposed to, causing an engine to shut down during flight. This shutdown ultimately caused the rocket to miss its mark on the drone ship. https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-success-rocket-landing POSITION AVAILABLE: Staff Engineer The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), the largest airline pilot union in the world and the largest non-governmental aviation safety organization in the world (representing over 59,000 pilots at 35 U.S. and Canadian airlines) seeks an experienced Staff Engineer for our Tysons (McLean), Virginia office. The Staff Engineer provides staff coordination and liaison with government, industry, and professional stakeholders on behalf of the Air Safety Organization and other Association committees, MECs, and National Officers, as assigned by the department Director or Manager. They provide coordination and technical support to the Air Safety Organization, accident and incident investigations, FAA/TC pilot certificate enforcement action cases, and other safety investigations in the areas of aircraft design, manufacturing, and maintenance. Their specific focus is in the areas of aircraft design, certification, operations specifications, and maintenance. They analyze internal and external databases to identify trends and develop mitigation strategies. They also effectively represent the Association and the department, interacting with government and industry safety officials on a routine basis. In coordination with relevant committees and staff members, they develop and coordinate written communications to membership and government and industry groups outlining ALPA positions on a wide variety of operational safety issues. Local, national, and international travel: 20 - 40%. Minorities, veterans, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Minimum Requirements: · Bachelor's degree in relevant area, e.g., Aerospace Engineering, Aviation Science, or other related discipline, from an accredited college or university required; or, the equivalent combination of education and practical aviation experience. Additional applicable aviation experience may be substituted for the academic requirement. • Three (3) years of related experience in the aviation industry, five (5) or more strongly preferred. • Special expertise in U.S. and Canadian Aviation Regulations (FARs and CARs), national and international aviation standards, and aircraft design standards required. • Familiarization with and participation in Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC), the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council (CARAC), and Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) processes is required. • A pilot’s license with an instrument rating and/or special knowledge or applicable expertise in the aviation industry strongly preferred. Experience in aircraft design and operations may be substituted for the pilot’s license. • FAA Airframe and Powerplant certification (A&P license) and/or equivalent experience with maintenance and/or large aircraft manufacturing preferred. • Experience with NTSB and/or TSB accident investigation processes preferred. • Strong technical writing and public speaking skills required. • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, oral and written, for effective interaction with all levels of contacts, internal and external. • Must be a self-starter with professional maturity and sound judgment, capable of independent decision-making and to be proactive in identifying and responding to issues and problems. • Must possess exceptional time management skills; be able to work in a fast-paced, multi-tasking environment; and, transition easily between projects. • Software: Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint. Physical Demands: Note: The physical demands described herein are characteristic of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals to perform the essential physical activities of this position described below. Constantly operates a computer/smartphone/tablet. Regularly required to maintain a stationary position, move about the office and the local metropolitan area, determine what others have said or written, and converse with others and exchange accurate information. Regularly required to sit, stand, bend, reach, and move about the office and travel (locally, nationally, and internationally). Also includes occasional bending, stooping, squatting, and/or pushing and pulling or moving, e.g., to pack, unpack, and/or move cases. Occasionally required to move, raise, reach, and/or retrieve binders, books, boxes, and files up to ten (10) pounds (lbs.). While on travel, could be responsible to move luggage weighing as much as 50 lbs. (Assistance may not always be available.) Please apply online at https://jobs-alpa.icims.com/jobs/1353/staff-engineer/job ALPA offers competitive salaries with excellent benefits, including: • 26 days paid vacation and holidays per year; • Generous sick and bereavement leave; • Generous health care benefits – PPO, two HMO’s (where available) and a High Deductible Health Plan which includes coverage for medical, dental, and vision benefits for employee, spouse, and/or dependent children; • Company-paid premiums for disability and life insurance; • $3 for $1 matching 401(k) retirement savings plan; Roth 401k; • Flexible Spending and Health Savings accounts; and • Retiree health plan. The Air Line Pilots Association is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Relocation not provided. Sponsorship not available for this position. Graduate Survey Survey of Commercial and Airline Transport Pilot’s Perception of the Impact Cockpit Organizational Framework has on Flight Safety and Subordinate Pilot Behavior https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COF-Survey Curt Lewis