Flight Safety Information - June 10, 2021 No. 116 In This Issue : Incident: Bradley AT42 at Pangnirtung on Jun 7th 2021, could not retract landing gear : Incident: Pobeda B738 at Moscow on Jun 8th 2021, bird penetrates stabilizer : Incident: Conviasa E190 at Porlamar on Jun 8th 2021, unsafe gear : Incident: Delta B752 at Keflavik on May 30th 2021, electrical burning odour :Airline travel horror stories mount as Americans pack the not-so-friendly skies : AirAsia grounds 90% of jets amid virus surge : United to split major jet order between Boeing, Airbus -sources : Rocket on pad, China ready to send 1st crew to space station : Position Available: Investigator/Senior Investigator, Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) : Position Available: NTSB Aerospace Engineer (Systems) Incident: Bradley AT42 at Pangnirtung on Jun 7th 2021, could not retract landing gear A Bradley Air Services/Canadian North Avions de Transport Regional ATR-42-300, registration C-GUNO performing flight 5T-825 from Pangnirtung,NU to Iqaluit,NU (Canada) with 8 passengers and 3 crew, was climbing out of Pangnirtung when the crew selected the gear up, the gear however did not retract. Instead the crew received a low pressure and low quantity indication for the green hydraulic system. The crew decided to continue to Iqaluit with the gear down, declared emergency and landed safely in Iqaluit. The Canadian TSB reported the aircraft was towed to the apron. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e8abdaa&opt=0 Incident: Pobeda B738 at Moscow on Jun 8th 2021, bird penetrates stabilizer A Pobeda Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration VP-BPT performing flight DP-158 from Krasnodar to Moscow Vnukovo (Russia), departed Krasnodar's runway 23L, climbed to FL360 enroute and landed on Vnukovo's runway 06 about 105 minutes after departure. Rosaviatsia reported a post flight inspection revealed a bird had dented and punctured the leading edge of the left hand horizontal stabilizer. The aircraft remained on the ground in Moscow for about 9.5 hours, then resumed service. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e8aa3a3&opt=0 Incident: Conviasa E190 at Porlamar on Jun 8th 2021, unsafe gear A Conviasa Embraer ERJ-190, registration YV2953 performing flight V0-1002 from Caracas to Porlamar (Venezuela) with 104 people on board, was on approach to Porlamar when upon extending the landing gear the crew did not receive gear down and locked indication for all landing gear and aborted the approach. The aircraft entered a hold while the crew worked the related checklists. The aircraft landed safely about 20 minutes after aborting the first approach. Venezuela's INAC (Civil Aviation Authority) reported the aircraft aborted the approach at 10:13L (14:13Z) due to an unsafe gear indication, the crew applied the related procedures and landed safely at 10:30L (14:30Z). Passengers reported flight attendants briefed the emergency brace procedures and during landing had the passengers assume their brace positions. The landing was safe and they were received by emergency services. The flight was estimated to depart Caracas at 09:00L and to land in Porlamar at 10:00L, however, had departed Caracas with a delay of about 20 minutes. Local media report the aircraft entered a hold for 90 minutes to burn off fuel before landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e8a9b95&opt=0 Incident: Delta B752 at Keflavik on May 30th 2021, electrical burning odour A Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N624AG performing positioning flight DL-9887 from Keflavik (Iceland) to New York JFK,NY (USA) with 8 crew, was climbing out of Keflavik when the crew noticed an electrical burning odour without visible smoke. The crew worked the related smoke/fire/fumes checklist, determined no circuit breakers had tripped, there were no EICAS alerts. The crew consulted with maintenance and as the source of the odour could not be determined a decision was made to return to Keflavik. The aircraft descended from FL380 and FL290 and landed safely back about 2:50 hours after departure. The Canadian TSB reported maintenance had replaced the right hand Multi Control Display Unit (MCDU) the previous night due to a report snag. Following the occurrence flight the MCDU was again replaced, new recirculation filters were installed and the electrical harness and connectors inspected with no anomaly like arcing or damage found. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e8abf60&opt=0 Beechcraft 1900D-crashed under unknown circumstances (Myanmar) Date: Thursday 10 June 2021 Type: Beechcraft 1900D Operator: Tatmadaw Lei (Myanmar Air Force) Registration: 4610 MSN: UE-325 First flight: 1998 Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 16 Aircraft damage: Destroyed Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: near Pyin Oo Lwin ( Myanmar) Phase: Approach (APR) Nature: Military Departure airport: Naypyidaw International Airport (NYT/VYNT), Myanmar Destination airport: Anisakan (VYAS), Myanmar Narrative: An airplane of the Tatmadaw Lei (Myanmar Air Force) crashed under unknown circumstances near Pyin Oo Lwin, 1,8 km NNW of the Anisakan Airport. Twelve occupants died in the crash and four were injured. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20210610-0 Airline travel horror stories mount as Americans pack the not-so-friendly skies With Americans rushing to travel now that the end to the coronavirus pandemic is coming into view, flights are packed, ticket prices have soared, airports are bustling and tempers are flaring. Laura Ramirez is relieved to be home in New York after what she calls a “nightmarish experience” traveling by plane from Miami this past weekend. “I was supposed to get back on Sunday morning, and American Airlines at the Miami Airport is a mess,” Ramirez, a reporter at Yahoo News, said. “They don't have enough agents to handle the amount of people traveling, and I missed my flight even though I arrived at the airport two hours [early]. The line to see an agent was a three-hour line.” When Ramirez finally got to speak to an agent, there were no more flights available for that day. So she rebooked for Monday, only to have that flight canceled as she arrived at the airport. She was left to book another flight at a different airport. “The airline didn't offer anything — no hotel or food vouchers,” Ramirez said. “It was a terrible experience, and I know I wasn't the only one going through that." Ramirez’s story has suddenly become commonplace as Americans have flocked back to an airline industry that struggled to stay afloat over the last year and a half. Flight routes that had been suspended due to inactivity are now running at full capacity. Airports that had emptied are now bustling with customers looking to take their first flight since the pandemic began. And with the return of crowded TSA checkpoints and terminals whose shops and restaurants have yet to fully reopen, frustrations among passengers, as well as some physical altercations, have become more frequent. Just last week, American and Southwest Airlines announced they would postpone plans to resume serving alcohol on flights after an uptick in unruly and sometimes violent passenger incidents in recent weeks. A video taken aboard a May 30 Southwest flight captured a passenger repeatedly punching a flight attendant in the head after being asked to buckle her seatbelt. The flight attendant lost two teeth in the assault, and the passenger was charged with battery. A man onboard a June 4 flight originating in Jacksonville, Fla., was arrested after punching another passenger several times and slapping away the hand of an off-duty police officer, according to an arrest report. That man was charged with making threats, disorderly intoxication, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest without violence. In recent weeks, numerous other stories of combative passengers on flights and of violent encounters in airports have been reported. While incidents in the air have always been a once-in-a-while occurrence, the numbers show they are happening with more frequency. Through May of this year, about 2,500 in-flight passenger incidents had been reported to the Federal Aviation Administration in 2021, and 394 of those were classified as “unruly,” according to Forbes. This marks a more than 100 percent increase in the number of complaints compiled over the last two years, which fell well under 200 for each full year of 2019 and 2020. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents over 45,000 flight attendants across 17 airlines, said the level of hostility toward flight attendants in the past year has been astounding. “We have just never seen anything like this,” Nelson said during an online meeting with federal aviation officials in late May. “We’ve never seen it so bad.” Several flight attendants declined to speak with Yahoo News for this story, citing confidentiality concerns. The reasons for the increase in incidents vary depending on who you ask. Nelson said airline mask rules, still in place across the industry, were one significant factor behind the statistics, but other factors include overall pandemic fatigue and travelers who often misinterpret new rules. “We’ve all had a difficult year and a half, and let’s face it: traveling again is weird,” Sara Rathner, a travel expert at NerdWallet, told Yahoo News. “We’re not used to being in crowds, and we’re not used to spending extended amounts of time in enclosed spaces with other people. So we’re all going through an adjustment period, but eventually we’ll remember how life used to be. “That being said, it’s never OK for anyone to take out their negative feelings on airline employees by committing assault,” she added. “Their job is to keep travelers safe and comfortable, and that means enforcing rules. Airlines are much more likely to permanently ban passengers for bad behavior, and that’s their right as a business. If you don’t like the rules, drive. But please observe the rules of the road if you do.” Since February, about 22 people have been slapped with civil penalties following disruptive incidents related to air travel. Last month, the FAA announced it was proposing fines as high as $15,000 against five more passengers for violations that included allegedly assaulting and yelling at flight attendants. As more airlines take a harsher approach to quell disruptive or rowdy passengers, experts believe the issues onboard will likely decrease as well. “COVID-19 has brought out the best in some air travelers and the worst in others,” Joe Leader, CEO of the Airline Passenger Experience Association, told Yahoo News. “We should see a reduction in unruly behavior as both airlines and governments are taking more of a ‘zero tolerance’ stance against aggressive passengers.” In the meantime, the crush of passengers shows no signs of slowing. Airports saw a 499 percent increase in customers in May compared with March 2020. Nearly 2 million people flew over Memorial Day weekend alone, according to a report by the Transportation Security Administration. Delta's bookings in March were twice the level recorded in January, despite the fact that it notched a $1.2 billion loss in the first quarter of this year. American said its daily net bookings in late April reached 2019 levels without the benefit of much international or business travel. Southwest is also looking to turn things around in the next few months after losing $1 billion in the first three months of the year. “The industry is simply recovering, albeit patchy and uneven around the world,” Darren Ellis, professor of air transport management at Cranfield University in the U.K., told Yahoo News. “Last year was so different to anything ever experienced in the aviation industry’s history that comparisons with this year are challenging to accurately make. … What really strikes me is how much of the massive global aviation industry has been impacted, and for so long.” A May report from the U.S. Travel Association showed that in April 2021, travel spending tallied more than $73 billion and reflected a drop of “only” 24 percent below April 2019 levels. Now nearly nine in 10 American travelers have plans to travel in the next six months — a new high over the past year. U.S. airline CEOs have begun sounding more optimistic about the future of the industry. "We’re starting to see light at the end of this very dark tunnel," American Airlines CEO Doug Parker told investors on an earnings call on April 22. "I’m relieved. I’m optimistic. I’m enthused. I’m grateful," Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly told investors. "My, what a difference a year makes," United CEO Scott Kirby said in a podcast last month. But as passengers get back to booking flights, prices continue to rise. Domestic U.S. fares are up 9 percent since April 1, while international fares are up 17 percent, according to research from Bernstein published last month. Even still, a populace that spent the better part of the last year pent up due to pandemic restrictions appears eager to return to travel. In 2022, global passenger numbers are expected to recover to 88 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels, and in 2023 they’re expected to surpass pre-COVID levels at 105 percent, according to data put together by IATA and Tourism Economics. As for Ramirez, who returned home two days after her first missed flight, "I'm just happy to be home," she said. https://www.yahoo.com/news/airline-travel-horror-stories-mount-as-americans-pack-the-not-so-friendly-skies-212428365.html AirAsia grounds 90% of jets amid virus surge AirAsia says it has grounded around 90% of its fleet of over 200 planes. The move comes amid a resurgence of Covid-19 outbreaks in the region. Malaysia, the airline's largest market, is currently under lockdown. The AirAsia unit in the country says demand could recover from August, allowing it to restore services to 17 domestic airports by October. A full return to pre-crisis demand levels across Asia is not expected until around the third quarter of 2022. AirAsia Group last month reported its seventh straight quarterly loss as a result of the crisis. Passenger numbers in the quarter to the end of March were down 90% on the year. https://www.yahoo.com/news/airasia-grounds-90-jets-amid-144335271.html United to split major jet order between Boeing, Airbus -sources (Reuters) - United Airlines is in talks to place a multi-billion-dollar order for single-aisle jets potentially split between Boeing and Airbus, industry sources said. If confirmed, the deal could include over 100 of Boeing's 737 MAX 8 and several dozen larger Airbus A321neo jets, they said, asking not to be identified. The carrier is looking to upgrade its fleet at a time when travel is surging in the United States, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the Boeing negotiations. That portion of the order could include 150 Max, it said. "We do not currently have a deal in place with Boeing or Airbus to purchase new aircraft and do not comment on speculative aircraft orders," United spokesperson Luke Punzenberger said in response to the earlier report. Boeing and Airbus both said they do not comment on customer discussions. In March, United ordered 25 new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, as it prepares to replace aging jets and meet post-pandemic demand growth. Bookings for U.S. airlines are expected to rebound this year on the back of COVID-19 vaccinations and easing restrictions after the pandemic caused the industry's worst downturn. A deal split between the 168-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8 and the roughly 200-seat A321neo would deliver a broad boost to the aerospace sector as it clambers out of the COVID-19 crisis. It would bolster Boeing's main cash cow, the MAX 8, after a safety grounding while reinforcing a trend towards Airbus at the higher end of the busy single-aisle segment that threatens to alter the product line-up in their transatlantic duopoly. Airbus' A321neo has snapped up a dominant share of orders in the recently booming large single-aisle segment, prompting Boeing to weigh a replacement for its out-of-production 757, which overlaps with the A321neo in size and range. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/united-airlines-talks-buy-least-053814249.html Investigator/Senior Investigator, Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) Date: Jun 1, 2021 Location: Flight Training Academy (DFW-SV03) Requisition ID: 42594 Intro Are you ready to explore a world of possibilities, both at work and during your time off? Join our American Airlines family, and you’ll travel the world, grow your expertise and become the best version of you. As you embark on a new journey, you’ll tackle challenges with flexibility and grace, learning new skills and advancing your career while having the time of your life. Feel free to enrich both your personal and work life and hop on board! Why you'll love this job • This job is a member of the Investigating team within the Integrated Operations Division. • Responsible for providing analysis of operational flight data as well as producing reports and presentations for the Flight Operation Quality Assurance (FOQA) Program. What you'll do • Conducts daily work flow processes for the FOQA program • Assesses events and trends, identifies operational hazards, and validates corrective actions • Develops new data analysis products and methodologies for data mining • Coordinates with the Flight Operations Department for data analysis needs • Coordinates regularly with Allied Pilots Association (APA) FOQA gatekeepers • Coordinates with Technical Operations regarding support of the FOQA program and maintenance analysis • Creates flight animations of actual events for use in operational departments • Assists with accident and incident investigations • Participates in monthly FOQA Monitoring Team meetings • Participates and contributes to the American Airlines Safety Management System (SMS) process • Develops, prepares and presents analysis of flight data • Creates enhanced reports and dashboards using Tableau or Microsoft BI • Represents American Airlines at industry meetings • Assists with accident and incident investigations, to include occasional weekend and holiday duty All you'll need for success Minimum Qualifications- Education & Prior Job Experience • Bachelor's Degree in related field or equivalent experience/training • 3 years related job experience • Experience working with data mining tools such as Tableau, Business Objects, Access, etc. • Experience performing data analysis and building various related reports in MS Office products Preferred Qualifications- Education & Prior Job Experience • Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Mathematics, Engineering, or Statistics • Basic Programming knowledge/experience • Master's degree in related field • Previous experience within a FOQA/Flight Data Monitoring program • Expertise in flight data monitoring software • Experience using CEFA animation software • Private pilot license or higher • Previous job experience at an air carrier Skills, Licenses & Certifications • Knowledge of aeronautical theory and aviation operations as applied to commercial aircraft • Proficient using MS Office software • Must fulfill background checks to qualify for unescorted access privileges to airport security identification display areas (SIDA), if applicable • Must be able to secure appropriate airport authority and/or US Customs security badges, if applicable • Must be able to handle multiple projects with changing deadlines What you'll get Feel free to take advantage of all that American Airlines has to offer: • Travel Perks: Ready to explore the world? You, your family and your friends can reach 365 destinations on more than 6,800 daily flights across our global network. • Health Benefits: On day one, you’ll have access to your health, dental, prescription and vision benefits to help you stay well. And that’s just the start, we also offer virtual doctor visits, flexible spending accounts and more. • Wellness Programs: We want you to be the best version of yourself – that’s why our wellness programs provide you with all the right tools, resources and support you need. • 401(k) Program: Available upon hire and, depending on the workgroup, employer contributions to your 401(k) program are available after one year. • Additional Benefits: Other great benefits include our Employee Assistance Program, pet insurance and discounts on hotels, cars, cruises and more Feel Free to be yourself at American From the team members we hire to the customers we serve, inclusion and diversity are the foundation of the dynamic workforce at American Airlines. Our 20+ Employee Business Resource Groups are focused on connecting our team members to our customers, suppliers, communities and shareholders, helping team members reach their full potential and creating an inclusive work environment to meet and exceed the needs of our diverse world. Are you ready to feel a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction as you do your part to keep the largest airline in the world running smoothly as we care for people on life’s journey? Feel free to be yourself at American. Additional Locations: None Requisition ID: 42594 Nearest Major Market: Fort Worth Nearest Secondary Market: Dallas Job Segment: Operations Manager, Engineer, Quality Assurance, Operations, Engineering, Technology, Aviation APPLY NOW Curt Lewis