Flight Safety Information - May 17, 2023 No. 095 In This Issue : Incident: PSA CRJ9 at Dayton on May 16th 2023, engine vibrations : Incident: Qantas B738 at Cairns on May 16th 2023, engine problem : Cathay Pacific Has Lost More Than Half Of Senior Pilots Since 2019 : Woman in cockpit: DGCA issues notices to Air India CEO, head of flight safety : Man enters Mumbai airport with fake ticket to look for lost phone : Naval Aviation Holds 2nd Annual Safety Summit Incident: PSA CRJ9 at Dayton on May 16th 2023, engine vibrations A PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N600NN performing flight AA-5157 from Dayton,OH to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA), had just levelled off at FL320 when the crew decided to return to Dayton due to engine (CF34) vibrations. The aircraft landed safely back in Dayton about one hour after departure. A replacement CRJ-900 registration N592NN reached Dallas with a delay of about 2:45 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Dayton about 7 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=50936a58&opt=0 Incident: Qantas B738 at Cairns on May 16th 2023, engine problem A Qantas Boeing 737-800, registration VH-VZO performing flight QF-703 from Cairns,QL to Melbourne,VI (Australia), was climbing out of Cairns' runway 15 when the crew stopped the climb at FL190 due to a problem with one of the engines (CFM56). The aircraft entered a hold at FL190 for about an hour and returned to Cairns for a safe landing on runway 15 about 90 minutes after departure. The airline reported a potential problem with an engine prompted the return to Cairns, emergency services were not needed. The aircraft is still on the ground in Cairns about 13 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=509368b2&opt=0 Cathay Pacific Has Lost More Than Half Of Senior Pilots Since 2019 Around 1,800 pilots left in the last four years. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific has lost over half its senior pilots since 2019. According to the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, the union representing Cathay pilots published a release titled Exodus of Pilot Talent, and the numbers have increased since then. About 1,800 pilots left the airline during the pandemic, up from 1,500 last October. High Attrition Rates It goes without saying that airlines worldwide faced one of, if not the greatest, challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the world virtually stopped, and almost overnight, airports were emptied of passengers, and aircraft were parked for an unknown period. Cathay Pacific was no stranger to challenges, facing some of the tightest and longest COVID-19 travel restrictions of any territory on the planet. During that period, many of its pilots left and continue to leave today. According to the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association Chairman Paul Weatherilt shared that around 1,800 pilots left the airline during the pandemic. Cathay recruited about 400, but that is almost one-fourth the number of pilots it lost. Morale has been low since the pandemic, as salaries and benefits received significant reductions. Significant pay and benefit cuts Under the current contract, negotiated during the pandemic, some pilots had their pay reduced by as much as 40%. In addition to salary reductions, Cathay stopped paying its pilots for the time spent at the gate, and taxiing to and from gates, only paying them while the wheels were moving. This led to significant congestion at Hong Kong Airport as pilots began taxiing at lower speeds in order to receive more pay, leading the airport authority to alert Cathay Pacific to the ongoing problem. A pilot, whose name was not revealed, told the Post that every minute less of work resulted in significant losses for pilots, “In the old days, if I was given 10 hours of work on that day, I would get 10 hours’ pay. But now we are only getting paid counting the time from when the wheels move and stop by the minute. Just imagine, a minute of work is worth a few hundred dollars for captains. That’s a huge difference." Cathay provides its pilots with medical, housing, and education benefits, all of which were significantly cut. The wife of a senior pilot at Cathay told the South China Morning Post that during the last three years, their family had moved homes twice, and one child even had to switch schools because of the cuts from her husband's employer. The pilot in question has worked for Cathay for more than 20 years. The pilot's wife, named Lee in the Post's article to remain anonymous, said "There is a lot of guilt I think the pilots feel - of letting their families down, of not being able to provide for them as well, of how suddenly things turned despite the fact that they haven’t done anything wrong.” The current attrition rate at Cathay Pacific has stabilized. The airline told Simple Flying, The attrition rate has normalised across all staff groups, including the pilots. We are also pleased to welcome back some 250 Cathay pilots, including captains and first officers, to rejoin the airline. We are on track with our comprehensive plan to recruit top talent to support our operations and drive our rebuilding efforts. https://simpleflying.com/cathay-pacific-lost-half-senior-pilots-since-2019/ Woman in cockpit: DGCA issues notices to Air India CEO, head of flight safety A DGCA official said that Air India CEO and chief of its flight safety have been given 15 days to respond India’s aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), issued show cause notices to Air India chief executive officer (CEO) Campbell Wilson and chief of its flight safety for lapses in not reporting a pilot’s violation of letting his woman friend into the cockpit. HT had reported about the violation last week, leading to the regulator to initiate a probe into the matter. “Show cause notices have been issued to CEO Air India and chief of flight safety both, on April 21. For the lapses in not timely reporting of the DGCA safety instructions violations to DGCA and for the delay in investigating the incident,” an official close to the investigation confirmed to HT. “They have been given 15 days to respond,” the official added. A comment from Air India is awaited. The development comes as the DGCA, last week, off rostered the entire crew operating flight AI 915 Delhi to Dubai on February 27. The development was a result of HT’s report that highlighted the complaint by the cabin supervisor on March 3. The airline, however, did not take action after which the complainant approached the DGCA. Capt. Harsh Suri, the pilot in command , the first officer (co-pilot) and cabin crew including the ones serving the economy class passengers were summoned by the DGCA and their statements were recorded. The pilots, officials had said, will remain grounded until the investigation is concluded. “Lack of timely intervention and action forced the whistle-blower to escalate the matter to DGCA.” The complainant in a special incident report sent to Wilson and Henry Donohoe, head of safety, had stated, “I have been too shattered and too shocked with certain incidents, threatening and humiliating manner of the Commander, and his berating me and stripping me naked in public with his words and actions when I had raised the DGCA violations made by him...” The complainant had not only detailed the violation of the pilot letting a woman passenger into the cockpit, but also pointed out his unusual aggressiveness and his various sexist comments about female crew members. “I have never interacted with him in the past, hence I did not know Captain Suri was given to bouts of high intensity loss of rationality and super-aggressive behaviour. My thoughts instantly went to the pilot of GermanWings, Andrea Lubitz, and I was very scared at what this pilot could do, when he was so violent,” the complaint had stated. Lubitz, who had been treated for suicidal tendencies and declared unfit to work by his doctor, reported for duty and deliberately crashed a flight in the French Alps in March 2015, killing all 144 passengers and all six crew members. Referring to the pee-gate incident when a male passenger allegedly urinated on a woman co- passenger, a matter reported to the top management but saw no action unless reported by media; the official said, “This is prima facie a default yet again by the airline.” https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/air-india-ceo-flight-safety-chief-issued-show-cause-notices-by-dgca-over-cockpit-violation-delayed-reporting-of-safety-instructions-101682846883256.html Man enters Mumbai airport with fake ticket to look for lost phone MUMBAI: A man was arrested for allegedly using a fake air ticket to enter the city airport on May 14. Sahar police said the accused, Noor Shaikh (37), a Saki Naka resident, committed the offence to get information of his mobile which he lost on the airport premises during his travel from Mumbai to Delhi a week ago. Shaikh managed to clear the Central Industrial Security Force (CSIF) security check at the entry point of the airport around 10 pm. Shaikh had showed the fake e-ticket for a Mumbai to Delhi flight on his mobile phone. The ticket forgery came to light when Shaikh went to the ticket counter to complete his check-in. The officials at the counter of the airline company alerted CISF officials about the forgery. "Shaikh's family said he is depressed after losing his job recently and has been doing such acts without knowing the consequences. He was caught after he forged the old Mumbai-Delhi ticket of Vistara Airlines using a computer software. He cleared the CISF check to enter before he was caught," said an officer of Sahar police station. The police said Shaikh created the fake airline ticket by editing the old ticket and entered the Mumbai International Airport on May 14. "The accused had travelled on a flight from Mumbai to Delhi recently and he lost his phone at the airport. He decided to make the fake ticket and enter the airport to check the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the arrival area to look for his lost mobile. On a fake ticket, the passenger can go up to the security check where tickets are scanned," said an officer. The complaint was filed by CISF assistant sub-inspector Ajay Singh after he was alerted by the CISF control room in-charge inspector Upendra Singh that the Vistara Airline ticket counter had alerted that Shaikh had produced a fake ticket. The complaint stated: "Shaikh informed us he created the fake ticket using an old one which he edited using his laptop. He wanted to search the premises and wanted to check CCTV cameras to locate his lost mobile." Shaikh was handed over to the Sahar police for further probe. He has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating). He was remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/man-enters-airport-with-fake-ticket-to-look-for-lost-phone/articleshow/100288706.cms?from=mdr Naval Aviation Holds 2nd Annual Safety Summit From Naval Aviation Enterprise Communications Team Commander, Naval Air Forces (CNAF) hosted the second annual Naval Aviation Safety Summit in San Diego, California, May 8-9. The event brought together safety experts, leadership and supervisory Sailors to discuss safety process improvements to protect the U.S. warfighting advantage—namely, people and platforms. More than 600 attendees involved in safety, maintenance, and aircraft handling across Naval Aviation built upon lessons learned over the past year to enhance the culture of safety throughout the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE). Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, CNAF, and often referred to as the Navy’s “Air Boss,” kicked off the Summit by discussing the current state of the safety environment within the Navy and Marine Corps, inviting the audience to learn from the speakers to "get better" on safety. He added that the Safety Summit was critical to achieving a collective warfighting advantage. According to Whitesell, the purpose of the Safety Summit was to explore safety-related concepts and ideas currently working for other communities and turn those results into outcomes for Naval Aviation to reduce the damage to platforms and to protect Sailors and Marines. Whitesell reflected on maintaining the operational capability of the “Air Wing of the Future.” He also stressed the importance of gathering leaders, experts and “the flight line” together to discuss what is working, what is not and how initiatives are implemented to strengthen Naval Aviation today and in the future. "The kids that are joining the Navy now are the same ones that will be the lieutenant commanders, the captains and the next Air Bosses, and they are going to be the next petty officers and chief petty officers who will lead the Navy over the next five, ten and even fifteen years, as they work their way through their careers," said Whitesell. "This is a critical moment for us to understand our business, to understand where we are from a safety perspective, and where we can combine the safety and the operational sides of the house." Safety-related experiences and perspectives were also shared from the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard and FedEx commercial aviation. On the summit's last day, a flag panel question-and-answer session was held with Whitesell; Rear Adm. John Meier, Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic; Rear Adm. Christopher Engdahl, commander, Naval Safety Command; and Rear Adm. Rich Brophy, Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA). "As conditions change, it is incumbent on us to change the controls," explained Meier. "Those conditions may be the experience of the workforce; it may be the workforce's capacity; it may be the weather, the non-skid, you name it. My focus is on the controls. We measure success not by the absence of a mishap but by the presence of the controls." Guest lecturer and author Dr. Tim Ludwig addressed dysfunctional practices that degrade work culture and what to do about them. Ludwig has over 30 years of experience in research and practice in organizational behavior management. In that role, he has helped assess, design, and implement behavioral safety and quality improvement programs for more than 50 companies worldwide as well as worked with Naval Sea Systems Command and Naval Information Warfare Systems Command. He also discussed how to develop systems to optimize employee performance by building upon the best safety behaviors and analyzing the behavior context. Dr. Steven Spear, the author of the book High-Velocity Edge, discussed how to execute high-performance evolutions safely during high-risk operations. Troy Mueller, Director Nuclear Technology Division, Naval Reactors, who spoke at the first Safety Summit last year in Norfolk, Virginia, returned to share safety improvement approaches for the NAE to consider and adopt. Other Naval Aviation experts provided presentations on topics including the year in review, command resiliency programs, and recently initiated safety programs across Naval Aviation. One of those programs involves CNATRA's overall progress with Bird/Animal Aircraft Strike Hazard commonly called BASH—efforts implemented across all training locations to keep student aviators and instructors safe as they train. The Naval Aviation Enterprise is a collaborative warfighting partnership where Naval Aviation leaders leverage their assigned authorities to deliberate and resolve interdependent issues across the whole of Naval Aviation to provide combat ready naval air forces to the fleet. https://www.cpf.navy.mil/Newsroom/News/Article/3396962/naval-aviation-holds-2nd-annual-safety-summit/ Curt Lewis