Flight Safety Information - April 9, 2021 No. 073 In This Issue : Rockwell 690B Turbo Commander - Landing Accident (Colombia) : NTSB Counts SMS, Recorders, FDM among 'Most Wanted' : Wizz Air replaces operations chief after probe into pilot redundancies : FAA Releases Online Courses For Drone Pilot Recurrent Training : TSA finds firearm in carry-on luggage at Honolulu airport : WBAT Safety Introduces University of North Dakota Aerospace as Most Recent ASAP and Platform+ Subscriber : Jazeera Airways Announces Vaccination Drive of Pilots and Cabin Crew : As Americans start traveling again, airlines revive pilot hiring plans : Southwest Airlines Recalls Flight Attendants Due to Heavy Summer Flight Schedule : Ouch: LATAM Retiring Entire Airbus A350 Fleet : SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites, now at 300 launched in just over one month : POSITION AVAILABLE: Chair of the Department of Applied Aviation Sciences Rockwell 690B Turbo Commander - Landing Accident (Colombia) Date: 06-APR-2021 Time: Type: Rockwell 690B Turbo Commander Owner/operator: Private Registration: HK-3561G C/n / msn: 11365 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Substantial Category: Accident Location: Santa Rosa del Sur - Colombia Phase: Landing Nature: Private Departure airport: Destination airport: Santa Rosa del Sur Airport Narrative: A Rockwell 690B Turbo Commander, registration HK-3561G, sustained substantial damage when it struck two cows while landing at an airstrip in Santa Rosa del Sur, Colombia. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/249508 NTSB Counts SMS, Recorders, FDM among 'Most Wanted' The National Transportation Safety Board approved its 2021-2022 "Most Wanted" list of safety improvements on Tuesday, calling for safety management systems (SMS) in all revenue passenger-carrying aviation operations, as well as urging mandatory crashworthy recorders and the adoption of flight data monitoring programs. The two issues were among the 10 focus areas on the list that NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said stem from a combined 118 safety recommendations. Each item on the list is backed by data, he added. For the 2021-2022 list, NTSB is urging the FAA to require, as well as verify the effectiveness of, SMS in all revenue passenger-carrying operations. “It is concerning that preventable accidents involving Part 135 and Part 91 revenue passenger-carrying operations continue to occur,” said Dana Schulze, director of NTSB’s Office of Aviation Safety, in recommending the addition of SMS to the safety list. “We believe more widespread adoption of safety management systems …could have a positive impact.” SMS has been a priority for the NTSB for well over a decade, with the first safety recommendation, initially aimed at Part 121, coming out in 2007. Since 2015 the Safety Board has highlighted this issue in reports surrounding five accidents. Over the years, the NTSB has also recommended that the FAA and other government agencies require SMS for emergency medical helicopter operators, public aircraft, Part 135, and commercial operators. “Most recently, we asked the FAA to require SMS for all revenue passenger-carrying operations, including those conducted under Part 91,” she said, but added FAA action, while on the legislative agenda, remains “a distant target. Considering the continued occurrence of fatal accidents that might have been prevented through effective implementation of SMS, it's important the FAA action in this area is timely.” She added that, in some cases, operators have voluntarily implemented in SMS, but without FAA oversight or review those programs were ineffective. While the FAA has a voluntary SMS program for Part 135, participation remains low. Only 20 operators have been accepted into the FAA’s program and another 213 are in various stages of approval, she said. As for recorders, NTSB noted that they are only required on commercial airlines, but that other passenger-carrying commercial aircraft, such as charter airplanes and air tours, should be equipped with data, audio, and video recording devices. The Safety Board said having video “would have been extremely helpful in determining flight crew actions in recent crashes in Texas, Indonesia, and Ethiopia.” The NTSB estimated that 86 percent of turbine-powered, nonexperimental, nonrestricted-category aircraft involved in fatal crashes that it investigated between 2005 and 2017 were not equipped with any recorder. Jim Ritter, the director of the NTSB Office of Research and Engineering, said that despite decades of recommendations to require cockpit recorders “there's been little action on the part of the FAA.” As a result, NTSB last year issued recommendations directly to manufacturers to install flight data audio and image recording systems on new turbine-powered helicopters and provide a means for retrofit. “The FAA has stated recorder recommendations present unique challenges, including difficulties in conducting a cost-benefit analysis, technical hurdles, retrofit problems, and privacy and security concerns as barriers to rulemaking,” Ritter noted. However, early feedback from the helicopter manufacturers has been more promising, with initial responses coming from five of the six affected manufacturers, he said. Flight data monitoring is another area repeated by the NTSB, including recommendations stemming from the 2015 Hawker 700 accident in Akron, Ohio, and most recently was reiterated during the Island Express helicopter accident. Regarding flight data monitoring programs, Ritter said the FAA’s focus has been on voluntary efforts and that the agency has plans to survey operators to see how many have installed the FDM systems but has postponed that effort. “The longer we go without cockpit image recorders, the more crashes that cannot be fully explained in future crashes that cannot be prevented,” he said. “Further, without FDM recorders and flight data monitoring programs, operators lack a critical tool to improve safety by addressing and identifying hazards before they cause an accident.” https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-04-07/ntsb-counts-sms-recorders-fdm-among-most-wanted Wizz Air replaces operations chief after probe into pilot redundancies PARIS (Reuters) - Low-cost carrier Wizz Air has replaced its flight operations chief after he was apparently recorded telling his team to draw up a redundancy list of pilots who were often sick or "caused grief" while sparing cheaper contract crew. In a letter to staff dated April 4, seen by Reuters, Wizz said its Head of Flight Operations Darwin Triggs was stepping down from his role after an investigation into "how the COVID-19 related redundancies were determined and carried out" last year. The Budapest-based airline announced plans to cut 1,000 jobs, or 20% of its workforce, in April 2020, weeks after a travel shutdown in Europe caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the letter, the airline said an independent review of its handling of the redundancies found no indication it had acted unlawfully but "some factors may have been taken into account that were inconsistent with Wizz Air's culture of open and honest communication and its focus on employee opportunity." The letter came after an audio recording circulated among pilots purportedly of a virtual meeting in April 2020 at which a Wizz manager told his staff to draw up target lists as the airline pursued 250 redundancies among pilots and trainees. "We start off with the bad apples, so anyone who has caused you grief on a routine basis," the manager is heard saying in the recording, before suggesting "excessive sickness" or declining to work on days off among reasons for termination. Asked to comment on the letter and the recording, a Wizz spokesman said in an emailed statement to Reuters: "It’s clear that some language was used on an internal call that did not reflect the process being undertaken nor the values of the business and that is a matter of regret." The spokesman declined to comment on whether it was Triggs' voice on the recording or whether he was still with the company. Reuters was unable to reach Triggs for comment or to determine whether he was speaking in the recording. Despite intense pressure to slash costs and conserve cash, airlines need to keep enough planes and staff ready for a post-pandemic recovery and future demand growth. Three months after the purported meeting, Wizz announced a "Cabin Crew to Captain" programme to retrain flight attendants as pilots. While traditional airlines have received state support throughout the COVID-19 travel crisis, budget carriers' cost-cutting agility has positioned them to gain ground in a recovery likely to be led by short-haul leisure travel. In the recording, the manager also suggests that pilots employed via a Dutch outsourcing firm should be left largely untouched. "They're easy to manage because we can let them go at any time. They only have 24 days of (leave) and they're incredibly cheap," the manager says, before concluding: "Sharpen your pencils and let's see what you can come up with." https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/exclusive-wizz-air-replaces-operations-201331511.html FAA Releases Online Courses For Drone Pilot Recurrent Training The FAA announced on Thursday that its updated training courses for Part 107 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drone) pilots are now live online. The free courses meet the training requirement for operations under the new Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft Over People rule, which is scheduled to go into effect on April 21, 2021. The Operations Over People rule includes provisions for Part 107 flights over people, over moving vehicles and at night. “Drone pilots who have Part 107 Remote Pilot Certification can now take their required training courses online,” the FAA said. “Drone pilots who do not hold a current Remote Pilot Certification and want to operate under Part 107 must take the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Initial Aeronautical Knowledge Test online through an FAA-Approved Knowledge Testing Center.” The three courses now available online include Part 107 Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Initial for current Part 61 certificate holders, Part 107 Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Recurrent for Part 107 pilots who are also certified and current under Part 61 and Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent Non-Part 61 Pilots for Part 107 certificate holders regardless of currency. The courses can be taken via the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) website at www.faasafety.gov/gslac/ALC/course_catalog.aspx. The agency noted that it is expecting the course release to cause a potentially problematic increase in site traffic and is encouraging people to take the courses outside of regular business days. https://www.avweb.com/recent-updates/unmanned-vehicles/faa-releases-online-courses-for-drone-pilot-recurrent-training/ TSA finds firearm in carry-on luggage at Honolulu airport HONOLULU (KHON2) — Security officers discovered a firearm in the carry-on luggage of a departing passenger at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Wednesday, April 7. The discovery comes during an ongoing surge of travelers leaving Hawaii airports, especially in Honolulu and at Kahului Airport on Maui. Get Hawaii’s latest news sent to your inbox, click here to subscribe to News 2 You, a daily newsletter. On Wednesday at approximately 1 p.m., a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer saw an image of a firearm on the X-ray screen during a routine screening of carry-on luggage at the airport’s security checkpoint. The firearm was a .22 caliber Derringer, which was found in the carry-on luggage of a person traveling to San Francisco International Airport. The person was arrested on a state charge. A TSA spokesperson said firearms can be transported on a commercial aircraft only if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case, declared to the airline and placed in checked baggage. Any type of replica firearm is prohibited in carry-on luggage and must be transported in checked luggage. Firearms are never permitted in carry-on luggage, even if a traveler has a concealed weapons permit. TSA continues to screen thousands of departing passengers each day and is strongly advising travelers to arrive more than two hours prior to flight departure. “Airport security checkpoints in Honolulu and across Hawaii are seeing significant increases in the number of departing travelers. Despite these increases, TSA continues to focused on its core security mission to keep travelers safe and secure,” said TSA Federal Security Director for Hawaii Jenel Chang in a news release on Thursday, April 8. “We are asking every traveler to take a few minutes and come prepared for a quick and efficient screening experience at the airport checkpoint.” TSA also offers these following tips to travelers going through the security checkpoint: • Arrive more than two hours prior to flight departure. • Consider checking your luggage. Reducing the number of carry-on bags and personal items that need to be screened through the security checkpoint saves significant time for all travelers. • Be prepared for the screening process. Don’t bring prohibited items to the security checkpoint. Download the myTSA app and use the “Can I Bring?” feature to find out whether an item is allowed in your carry-on luggage or if it needs to be placed in checked luggage. • Share your Aloha spirit with other travelers, airport and airline employees as well as TSA officers to make the experience better for everyone! https://www.khon2.com/local-news/tsa-finds-firearm-in-carry-on-luggage-at-honolulu-airport/ WBAT Safety Introduces University of North Dakota Aerospace as Most Recent ASAP and Platform+ Subscriber Leesburg, VA, April 08, 2021 --(PR.com)-- WBAT Safety is proud to introduce University of North Dakota (UND) Aerospace as the most recent organization to join the WBAT Safety platform as a Platform+Support and ASAP facilitation services subscriber. As a world-renowned center for aerospace learning and academic excellence, UND Aerospace operates one of the largest fleets of civilian aircraft in North America and the largest collegiate training fleet in the world. In addition to offering 7 aviation degrees and 15 career pathway programs, UND Aerospace features state-of-the-art facilities and offers 110+ aircraft and simulators, allowing students to log an impressive 110,000+ flight hours. One of the core objectives of UND Aerospace is to provide skills to build and promote a culture of safety in the aerospace industry. “UND Aerospace is excited to be partnering with WBAT Safety through their Platform+ services. Safety is an ever-changing environment and the opportunity to work with WBAT Safety to provide programs such as the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) will not only bolster UND’s organizational safety through an enhanced reporting culture, but it will provide protections to our employees and pilot group while we continue to build up a just safety culture,” said Brian Willis, Director of Aviation Safety at UND Aerospace. “With one of the leading aviation collegiate education programs in the world, UND Aerospace is highly respected in the aviation industry,” said Kamron Githens, WBAT Safety Program Manager. “WBAT Safety looks forward to working with UND Aerospace and providing their ASAP facilitation services as they continue to enhance their safety culture.” WBAT Safety is the sole FAA-supported SMS program available on the market. The WBAT platform is a web-based system that supports all aspects of a complete SMS, including safety policy, safety risk management, safety assurance, safety promotion, and SMS recordkeeping and documentation. Platform+Support subscribers have access to support, training, and customizations to help organizations utilize WBAT to their fullest potential. Any organization can utilize the WBAT platform to collect, process, and analyze safety reports, conduct audits, and identify as well as manage risk. To learn more, visit www.wbatsafety.com. Contact Information: WBAT Safety Kamron Githens 856-282-2669 x107 Contact via Email https://www.wbatsafety.com http://www.itnewsonline.com/PR.com/WBAT-Safety-Introduces-University-of-North-Dakota-Aerospace-as-Most-Recent-ASAP-and-Platform-Subscriber/22219 Jazeera Airways Announces Vaccination Drive of Pilots and Cabin Crew Jazeera Airways announced that all of its pilots have been vaccinated while cabin crew will be fully vaccinated by April 12. On April 8, Jazeera Airways announced that all of its pilots have been vaccinated while cabin crew will be fully vaccinated by April 12. The airline is committed to ensuring the maximum protection for all those flying in Jazeera aircraft. Fully vaccinated crews together with pre-flight testing and strict hygienic regulations for cabins offers the passengers peace of mind when flying with the airline. The vaccinations were performed by Kuwait’s Ministry of Health at the Kuwait Vaccination Center. The drive is also being rolled out to include all employees working in the airline’s operations. Marwan Boodai, chairman of Jazeera Airways, said, “On behalf of everyone at Jazeera Airways, I thank Sheikh Dr. Basel Al-Sabah, Minister of Health, and the frontline workers in the Ministry of Health for their effort in speeding the vaccination process, specifically amongst service companies where employees are in direct contact with customers. Our crew are our frontline staff and it is important they are protected from the virus. We have been committed at Jazeera Airways to the safety of our passengers and they can rest assured that they are flying in extremely safe environments when flying with Jazeera Airways. Our airline is fully prepared for flights to resume normal service out of Kuwait International Airport in the near future." Jazeera Airways operates an expanding fleet of new Airbus A320neo aircraft, all equipped with hospital grade High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) cabin air filters. Jazeera Airways has also taken every safety and precautionary measure at Jazeera Terminal T5 in Kuwait to ensure passengers fly safely. Since the start of the pandemic, the airline has been at the forefront of supporting government efforts to prevent its spread. Jazeera placed its fleet at the disposal of the State of Kuwait and participated in the largest air bridge repatriation program ever launched by the State of Kuwait. The airline operated over 60 flights bringing home over 6,800 Kuwaiti citizens from around the world, as well as converted its Park & Fly facility in record time into the first drive-through COVID-19 centre in Kuwait for the use by the Ministry of Health. A second drive-through testing facility has also been constructed by the Jazeera Airways team at the Jaber Al-Ahmad national stadium. The airline also continued to serve business without interruption by operating full-cargo flights with a capacity of up to 15 tons per aircraft to bring in essential supplies to Kuwait. Jazeera also operated flights scheduled under the directive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by request from local embassies to fly expatriates traveling out of Kuwait. By the end of June, Jazeera Airways announced offering 50,000 free round-trip tickets to frontline heroes fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the State of Kuwait. The total value of these tickets is estimated at KD5 million. https://www.aviationpros.com/airlines/press-release/21217836/jazeera-airways-jazeera-airways-announces-vaccination-drive-of-pilots-and-cabin-crew As Americans start traveling again, airlines revive pilot hiring plans • Several major U.S. carriers are resuming hiring plans as demand grows. • United and JetBlue Airways have reached out to pilot candidates whose hiring was derailed by the Covid pandemic last year. • Domestic travel demand has rebounded as coronavirus cases fall. A rare sighting in the aviation industry over the past year is becoming more common: help wanted signs. Several U.S. airlines have recently resumed hiring pilots or plan to this year, the latest sign the industry expects travel demand to continue rising. Before the Covid pandemic hit, airlines were preparing for a wave of pilot retirements, which are federally mandated when pilots reach age 65. At American Airlines, for example, more than 7,200 of the airline’s more than 15,000 pilots are set to turn 65 over the next decade. But last year’s plunge in travel forced them to cut labor costs, which included offering early retirement packages to pilots. Now as travel demand returns, they are shifting their focus back toward hiring again. Pilot training can be time-consuming and costly. So airlines plan years in advance, generally so they can have enough pilots to handle peak summer travel seasons ahead. United last week told staff it plans to resume pilot hiring, starting with some 300 pilots that had a new-hire date or conditional job offer when Covid-19 derailed those plans last year. It also said it plans to start training the first class at its flight school this year, with the aim of training 5,000 pilots of the 10,000 it expects to need over the next decade. JetBlue Airways, meanwhile, said in a message addressed to 200 pilot candidates who were interviewing with the New York airline in 2019 and 2020 that the carrier is taking steps to begin hiring new pilots later this year. Budget carrier Spirit Airlines resumed training 24 new pilots last month and plans to train a similar number in April, a spokesman said. Another ultra-low cost airline, Allegiant Air, on Tuesday said it plans to open a new base in Austin, Texas, and will “immediately begin hiring pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and ground personnel to support the operations.” American Airlines-owned regional carrier PSA Airlines has opened up its hiring to external candidates. “Hiring needs are due to natural attrition and greater utilization of our fleet of CRJ 700 and CRJ 900 aircraft this year,” a spokeswoman said. And Avelo Airlines, a new U.S. carrier that debuted Thursday, said it will start operating with 37 pilots but it could add more as it expands. Air travel demand has improved since the depths of the pandemic a year ago. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby last week said domestic leisure demand has almost completely recovered, while American Airlines said net bookings the week ended March 26 were off just 10% compared with the same period of 2019. Airlines are generally reluctant to furlough pilots because their training takes so long, and they instead turned to voluntary separation, temporary leave or early retirement programs. But carriers also received three rounds of government aid totally $54 billion that prohibited involuntary job cuts, the first round of which came at the start of the pandemic. Airline pilot ranks are based on seniority and cuts would start with the most junior members. Airline executives contended that the aid allows them to be better prepared to capitalize on a recovery. Helane Becker, an airline analyst at Cowen & Co., said travel demand bounced back faster and more vigorously than expected. If they hadn’t kept those employees, airlines “would have been very ill prepared and the recovery would have taken longer,” Becker said. Without the aid early on, airlines would have likely furloughed a lot of junior pilots before the coming wave of retirements of their most experienced ones. For some carriers, the recent recovery in air travel demand has meant a change in plans. Delta Air Lines said it had about 100 cancellations on Easter Sunday due to staffing shortages, a problem it faced over Thanksgiving. Delta said it briefly removed capacity limits on some flights to accommodate travelers, a step it didn’t plan on taking until next month. Some pilots were asked if they could pick up last-minute shifts over the weekend. Delta earlier this year said it plans to call all its pilots back to active status. Earlier this month, the airline said it would allow pilots to bid on new positions, some moving up to captain or changing aircraft. Delta expects to close the bidding “with approximately 350 unbid positions, creating opportunities for future hiring,” Bob Schmelzer, Delta’s director of crew resources planning, analytics and reporting, wrote in an April 1 staff memo. Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, on April 1 called back 209 pilots from extended leaves to meet the rise in demand. They will return to active status on June 1 after completing requalification training. United launches pilot training, hiring program as demand for travel picks up https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/08/travel-during-covid-as-flight-demand-recovers-airlines-revive-pilot-hiring.html Southwest Airlines Recalls Flight Attendants Due to Heavy Summer Flight Schedule Southwest Airlines is recalling its flight attendants currently in the 'Extended Time-Off Program." The program was provided to more than 2,700 flight attendants when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the airline industry hard. The program was originally intended to decrease overstaffing and give flight attendants 6-18 months of time off and pilots 6 months - 5 years of time off in exchange for a portion of their pay and benefits. The end of the program will take place on Tuesday, June 1, along with the recall of the same program for pilots as well. Pilots will be required to complete requalification training before traveling through the skies. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/southwest-airlines-recalls-flight-attendants-due-to-heavy-summer-flight-schedule/2600802/ Ouch: LATAM Retiring Entire Airbus A350 Fleet LATAM has just announced that its entire Airbus A350 fleet will be retired. LATAM Brazil currently operates a fleet of 11 Airbus A350-900, and the company’s CEO has today announced plans for those planes to be retired effective immediately. LATAM Airlines Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2020, just months after Delta Air Lines purchased a 20% stake in the South American airline conglomerate. Due to the current bankruptcy proceedings, the airline needs to cut costs and streamline its fleet, and apparently that’s coming at the expense of the A350. LATAM Brazil took delivery of its first A350 back in 2016, and the average age of this fleet is just three years. The airline originally had over two dozen of these planes on order (including some A350-1000s), but almost half of those orders were canceled in 2020 (and Delta paid $62 million to undo a deal by which the airline was supposed to take over LATAM’s remaining A350 commitments). For what it’s worth, the A350s were a legacy order from TAM, from before the airline merged with LAN (with the latter airline having ordered 787s). It seems like LATAM never fully had a need for the A350s — the planes had been leased to other carriers, and the airline was even looking to get out of this commitment pre-pandemic. LATAM’s A350-900 business class LATAM will operate all-Boeing long haul aircraft With this announcement, the LATAM Airlines Group will exclusively operate Boeing aircraft on all long haul routes. Up until now, LATAM Brazil’s long haul fleet consisted of: 13 Airbus A350-900s 10 Boeing 777-300ERs 13 Boeing 767-300ERs LATAM Brazil is keeping its Boeing 767-300s With the A350-900s being retired, the airline will instead just have older Boeing aircraft in its long haul fleet. LATAM’s 767s are an average of eight years old, while LATAM’s 777s are an average of 10 years old. On the plus side, at least LATAM has installed new business class seats on these planes. Why would LATAM dump its newest long haul aircraft, rather than retiring older aircraft? Well, due to Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, presumably LATAM found a way to return these planes to leasing companies with favorable terms, and I imagine the payments on the 767s and 777s are much lower. At this point LATAM’s only latest generation long haul aircraft will be the 22 Boeing 787s in LATAM Chile’s fleet, including 10 787-8s and 12 787-9s. I suppose if the airline group is looking to simplify its fleet, it makes sense to focus on the 787s over A350s, given that there are more of them. LATAM Chile operates a fleet of 22 Boeing 787s Bottom line LATAM will be retiring its entire Airbus A350 fleet. This means LATAM Brazil will be left with only 767s and 777s, and the LATAM Airlines Group overall doesn’t have any new long haul aircraft orders remaining. Since this represents roughly one-third of LATAM Brazil’s long haul fleet, I’d expect some significant route cutbacks at the airline post-coronavirus, or perhaps we’ll see some 787s transferred from the Chile subsidiary. https://onemileatatime.com/latam-retiring-a350-fleet/ SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites, now at 300 launched in just over one month SpaceX has launched another batch of Starlink satellites, keeping up its rapid pace of launches for the broadband constellation it's deploying in low Earth orbit. This now makes 300 Starlink satellites launched since March 4, with 60 on each of five flights between then and now. The most recent launch before this one happened on March 24, with prior flights on March 14, March 11 and March 4. That pace is intentionally fast, since SpaceX has said it aims to launch a total of 1,500 Starlink satellites over the course of this calendar year. Before that especially busy month, SpaceX also flew four other Starlink missions, including a shared ride on SpaceX's first dedicated rideshare mission that also carried satellites for other customers. SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites, making 240 launched this month alone In total, SpaceX has now launched 1,443 satellites for its Starlink constellation. That doesn't reflect the total number of satellites on orbit, however, as a handful of those earlier satellites have been deorbited as planned. In total, the eventual planned size of the constellation is expected to include up to 42,000 spacecraft based on current FCC frequency spectrum filings. SpaceX recently signed a new agreement with NASA that outlines how the two organizations will avoid close approach or collision events between their respective spacecraft. NASA has measures it requires all launchers to follow in order to avoid these kinds of incidents, but the scale and frequency of SpaceX's Starlink missions necessitated an additional, more extensive agreement. NASA and SpaceX sign a special info sharing agreement to help avoid Starlink collisions This launch also included a landing of the Falcon 9 booster used, its seventh so far. The booster touched down as intended on SpaceX's floating landing pad in the Atlantic Ocean, and will be refurbished for another potential reuse. SpaceX is also going to be looking to recover its fairing halves at sea, which are the two cargo covering shields that encase the satellites during take-off. The company actually just decommissioned two ships it had used to try to catch these out of mid-air as they fell, slowed by parachutes, but it's still looking to retrieve them from the ocean after splashdown for re-use. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/spacex-launches-60-more-starlink-164733862.html POSITION AVAILABLE: Chair of the Department of Applied Aviation Sciences The College of Aviation (COA) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University—Daytona Beach invites applications and nominations for the position of Chair, Department of Applied Aviation Sciences. The College seeks a dynamic, nationally recognized academic leader with experience in developing and implementing strategic plans for the department that are aligned with the needs and goals of the College of Aviation. This 12-month faculty appointment is at our campus in Daytona Beach, FL. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is the gold standard in aviation and aerospace-related education. The Department of Applied Aviation Sciences is home to four-degree programs: Air Traffic Management, Aerospace and Occupational Safety, Meteorology, and Spaceflight Operations. The department draws students from around the world who are serious about their careers. Its talented faculty and state-of-the-art classrooms and lab facilities produce graduates who are highly sought after by industry. Reporting to the Dean of the College of Aviation, the Chair of the Department of Applied Aviation Sciences will be responsible for providing leadership in the development of faculty and academic programs, as well as participating in student recruitment, enrollment, and retention efforts. He/she will develop and maintain channels of communication with professional groups and industry to ensure that the department’s programs are providing appropriate educational preparation for its students. The Chair will encourage the faculty in the department to embrace new teaching methods and research opportunities. Qualifications Consideration of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. The successful candidate will have: • · Earned a doctoral degree (Ph.D., Ed.D., J.D., etc.) from an accredited institution. • · Experience in academic administration in scheduling courses, assigning faculty, evaluating faculty, ensuring appropriate recordkeeping and regulatory compliance, etc. • · A record of developing and maintaining channels of communication with professional groups and industry to ensure that programs are providing appropriate educational preparation for the students. • · Experience in maintaining academic excellence with respect to a department’s teaching and research efforts. • · Experience in developing a strong and competent faculty to meet the University curriculum requirements and high standards of the department. • · A demonstrable record of providing strong leadership in encouraging and growing research among faculty. • · Experience fostering collaboration among faculty both inside and outside the department, in both research and innovation in teaching. • · Demonstrated successful leadership experience at a four-year institution of higher education focused on teaching, research, and service. • · Attained tenure and an academic rank of Associate Professor or higher. The Department Chair is expected to begin no later than August 16, 2021. Applications should include a CV and a detailed letter describing the candidate’s aviation and administrative leadership experience as well as academic qualifications that demonstrate a fit with the Department of Applied Aviation Science and the position. All materials should be submitted online through our application system at https://embryriddle.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External/job/Daytona-Beach-FL/Chair-of-the-Department-of-Applied-Aviation-Sciences--Daytona-Beach-Campus-_R300550. Any questions should be directed to Associate Dean and Professor Daniel Friedenzohn at friedend@erau.edu. Curt Lewis