Flight Safety Information - August 1, 2023 No. 147 In This Issue : Accident: United B763 at Houston on Jul 29th 2023, hard landing : Accident: United B739 near Myrtle Beach on Jul 28th 2023, severe turbulence injures 3 : United Airlines temporarily barred a woman from flying after she forced a flight to divert to Arizona, and videos show her arguing with flight attendants and passengers : Final NTSB report finds deadly hot air balloon crash caused by delay in relighting burner : UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT DELAYED AFTER CLEVELAND BROWNS “TRASH” PLANE : TSA intercepts gun at Rapid City Regional Airport : Archer Aviation snags eVTOL purchase contract from US Air Force worth up to $142 million : Passenger demands change from Southwest Airlines after woman passes out on hot plane : Frontier Airlines Involuntarily Bumps Passengers More Than Any Other US Airline : Saudia to acquire 20 Airbus A321neo aircraft by 2026 : Boeing 737 Rate May Not Stabilize At 38 Anytime Soon, Data Suggests : Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia tests palm oil-blended jet fuel Accident: United B763 at Houston on Jul 29th 2023, hard landing A United Boeing 767-300, registration N641UA performing flight UA-702 from Newark,NJ to Houston Intercontinental,TX (USA), landed on Houston's runway 26L at 10:34L (15:34Z) but touched down hard. The aircraft rolled out without further incident and taxied to the apron. There were no injuries. According to information The Aviation Herald received the aircraft sustained substantial damage including wrinkles in the fuselage. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT MADE A HARD LANDING AND POST FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE FUSELAGE, HOUSTON, TX." The aircraft is still on the ground in Houston about 50 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=50c768a7&opt=0 Accident: United B739 near Myrtle Beach on Jul 28th 2023, severe turbulence injures 3 A United Boeing 737-900, registration N77431 performing flight UA-2122 from Newark,NJ (USA) to Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), was enroute at FL330 over the Atlantic Ocean about 240nm east of Myrtle Beach,SC (USA) when the aircraft encountered severe turbulence causing altitude deviations of at least -150 feet. The aircraft subsequently diverted to Myrtle Beach, where the aircraft landed safely on runway 18 about 75 minutes after the turbulence encounter. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED SEVERE TURBULENCE INJURYING FLIGHT ATTENDANTS, MYRTLE BEACH, SC.", 2 flight attendants received serious injuries, a passenger received minor injuries. The occurrence was rated an accident. https://avherald.com/h?article=50c76b8b&opt=0 United Airlines temporarily barred a woman from flying after she forced a flight to divert to Arizona, and videos show her arguing with flight attendants and passengers United Airlines temporarily barred a woman from flying with the airline after she caused a plane to be diverted. The woman refused to follow the cabin crew's instructions to return to her seat. "I knew you were drinking wine and you're not allowed to," a flight attendant said in a TikTok of the incident. United Airlines has barred a woman from flying with the airline after she forced a flight to divert from its intended destination, it told Insider in a statement. The woman was on board the United flight 1813 on July 25, which was scheduled to fly from Houston to Los Angeles, according to United's statement. The flight was diverted to Phoenix as the woman was "disruptive" and "refused to follow the flight attendant's instructions to return to her seat," the statement said. United did not identify the woman. Several videos of the incident were posted on TikTok by a user named Blake Perkins, who appeared to be a passenger on the flight. In one of the videos, Perkins wrote that the flight attendants didn't allow the woman to "have her wine." United declined to comment on Perkins' claim. Insider was not immediately able to contact Perkins for comment. "Another video of the karen who couldn't get her wine. We had to land the plans so she could get escorted off and causing us even more delays than we already had. Over wine," Perkins wrote in the caption of one of the videos posted on Thursday, misspelling the words "another" and "plane." In another video, two flight attendants were shown instructing the woman to remain in her seat and telling her she'd be arrested if she refused. The woman continued to refuse to sit down. "I knew you were drinking wine and you're not allowed to. And I still let you board the aircraft," the flight attendant could be heard saying in the video. According to United's statement, the woman was deplaned in Los Angeles and barred from flying with the airline. "Law enforcement officials met the aircraft on arrival and removed the passenger, and the flight subsequently departed for Los Angeles later that evening. The customer has been barred from future United flights while we review this matter," United told Insider. It's not the first time a passenger has been removed from a United flight. In July, United removed a passenger from a Taiwan-bound flight after he kept standing up and walking to the business class cabin. The flight was diverted to San Francisco. https://www.yahoo.com/news/united-airlines-temporarily-banned-woman-055022667.html Final NTSB report finds deadly hot air balloon crash caused by delay in relighting burner MANCHESTER, N.H. — The final National Transportation Safety Board report on a deadly hot air balloon crash blames a delay in getting the balloon's burner re-lit after it went out. The report from the July 2021 incident said the pilot, Brian Boland, 72, of Post Mills, Vermont, had trouble finding a striker to re-light the burner. That delay caused the balloon to descend and hit the ground. Boland was thrown out and became trapped in a rope and dangled under the balloon for a mile before falling to his death in a field near the Connecticut River. The balloon eventually got caught in the woods in Piermont, New Hampshire. https://www.wmur.com/article/final-ntsb-report-hot-air-balloon-accident-nh-vt/44694428# UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT DELAYED AFTER CLEVELAND BROWNS “TRASH” PLANE United Airlines passengers in Washington Dulles encountered a flight delay on their San Francisco flight, with a gate agent blaming a professional football team in Cleveland for “trashing” the aircraft. United Airlines Flight Delayed Thanks To Cleveland Browns As noted on FlyerTalk, UA1893 was delayed out of Washington Dulles (IAD) last night, July 30, 2023. Gate agents blamed the delay on a “trashed” 757-300, further explaining that it had been used as a charter aircraft for a professional sports team. Using United’s flight tracking software, it was not hard to find out which sports team was involved. The aircraft had come in from Cleveland earlier that day: Prior to Cleveland, it had flown from Greenbriar, West Virginia, where the Cleveland Browns have a training camp: Onboard, the pilot apologized “multiple times saying it was the most disgusting he’s seen a plane in his career.” Special menus with the Cleveland Browns logo were found in seatback pockets. It was further explained that the aircraft was full of “garbage, spilled food and drink everywhere, etc.” United has a busy charter business for professional sports teams (and faced some controversy a few years back when certain sports teams allegedly requested young, white, blonde girls to serve as flight attendants). There are a few questions, I have though: • The flight operated from Cleveland (CLE) to Washington (IAD) as UA2553 – it appears this was an empty leg, but why? Was the charter so last-minute that the aircraft had to wastefully be ferried between a United focus city (and former hub) and a United hub? • Why wasn’t the aircraft cleaned in CLE, where it sat for 2.5 hours, or in IAD, where it sat for more than four hours, prior to the IAD-SFO flight? • Do sports teams always trash planes? The flight ultimately took off 36 minutes late, arriving in San Francisco (SFO) 14 minutes late: CONCLUSION A United Airlines flight was delayed after the Cleveland Browns trashed it. It does seems there were a couple of missed opportunities to clean the plane which would have avoided a delay, but even so it strikes me as disgusting that a sports team would trash up a commercial airplane to such a degree that a pilot would say it was the worst he had ever seen his entire career. https://liveandletsfly.com/united-airlines-cleveland-browns/ TSA intercepts gun at Rapid City Regional Airport RAPID CITY, South Dakota – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers stopped a firearm from making its way onboard an airplane at Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP) Monday. During the routine screening of carry-on luggage, a TSA officer spotted the image of two handguns on the X-ray screen. TSA officials immediately alerted Rapid City Police, who responded to the checkpoint. Both firearms were loaded. “With summer travel ramping up, our TSA Officers continue to do a fantastic job preventing firearms from entering the secure area of the airport,” Jimmy Briseno, TSA’s Federal Security Director for South Dakota, said. “Let me be clear: Guns are never allowed in carry-on luggage. Bringing a firearm to the checkpoint can have serious consequences and endangers other passengers.” These are the fourth and fifth firearms detected at RAP so far this year. Last year, a total of seven firearms were detected at RAP security checkpoints. TSA recently announced that the penalty for bringing weapons to the airport increased and can reach as high as $14,950, depending on the circumstances. TSA determines the penalty amount for a violation based on the circumstances in each case. TSA will continue to revoke TSA PreCheck eligibility for at least five years for passengers caught with a firearm in their possession. Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed separately from ammunition in a locked hardback case and declared at the airline check-in counter. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should check for firearm laws in the jurisdictions they are flying to and from. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition. https://www.tsa.gov/news/press/releases/2023/07/31/tsa-intercepts-gun-rapid-city-regional-airport Archer Aviation snags eVTOL purchase contract from US Air Force worth up to $142 million eVTOL developer Archer Aviation continues to build and expand upon existing relationships with its partners and customers. Today’s news includes an expanded partnership with the United States Department of Defense in which the Air Force is planning to acquire a number of Midnight eVTOLs from Archer Aviation. Archer Aviation ($ACHR) is an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer that caught our eye when it first unveiled its “Midnight” aircraft in December of 2022. Since its inception in 2018, Archer Aviation has established working relationships with United Airlines, Stellantis, and the US Air Force. After announcing those partnerships with experts in aviation and high-volume production, Archer shared plans to manufacture the Midnight aircraft at a new US facility in Covington, Georgia. This past January, Archer shared that Stellantis was opening its check book to help Archer erect its new facility and get the Midnight eVTOLs into the air by 2024. This past June, the partners shared a construction update with the public, which also included a fresh stock acquisition. Today, Archer is building off another existing partnership with the Air Force worth up to $142 million that could soon send eVTOLs to the US military. US Air Force to purchase up to six eVTOLs from Archer According to details from Archer Aviation this morning, it has extended its existing partnership with the US Department of Defense (DoD) and, more specifically, entered an execution phase with the Air Force to deliver up to six Midnight eVTOLs. A newly signed contract worth up to $142 million has Archer sharing additional flight test data and certification-related test reports, pilot training, and help the DoD develop maintenance and repair operations under its AFWERX Agility Prime program. The program, which Archer has been involved in since 2021, has been established to assess the potential of eVTOL technologies. With today’s purchase of up to six eVTOLs, it appears the Air Force sees potential in vertical flight. Colonel Tom Meagher, the lead for AFWERX Agility Prime programs elaborated: It is our mission to ensure the US continues to lead the world in developing and deploying emerging aerospace technology. eVTOL aircraft represent the cusp of the third revolution in aerospace, and these aircraft and their descendants will drive advances in capabilities and efficiency. Our contracts with Archer Aviation provide the US Department of Defense and US Air Force the opportunity to play a role in ensuring from the onset, and as the technology evolves, that we unlock the many benefits these aircraft have to offer the US military. Looking ahead, Archer will continue to collaborate with the DoD under a Government Services Advisory Board in May formed by the eVTOL developer this past May, which includes several retired Generals. The Air Force is planning to use Archer’s Midnight aircraft for personnel transport, logistics, and rescue operations. Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein also spoke: This historic agreement reflects the steadfast commitment by our Armed Forces to embrace the cutting-edge technology our eVTOL aircraft offer. It’s clear that the development and commercialization of eVTOL technology continues to remain a national priority. We look forward to working closely with the US Department of Defense and the US Air Force to integrate Midnight into their operational fleet with a focus on transport, logistics and rescue operations. https://electrek.co/2023/07/31/archer-aviation-evtol-purchase-contract-us-air-force-worth-142-million/ Passenger demands change from Southwest Airlines after woman passes out on hot plane News Channel 3 is pressing Southwest Airlines for answers, after passengers on a flight out of Palm Springs were forced to wait on the tarmac in extreme heat. On July 26, Indio resident Kelly Melcher was onboard Southwest flight 2176 bound for Chicago with a stop in Denver. Melcher said the flight was originally delayed for to hours due to storm-related issues in Denver. However, passengers were eventually allowed to board the plane only for another issue to be encountered. “The plane stopped and the air conditioning went out," according to Kelly Melcher. She said the flight crew announced that they were having mechanical issues, but never said exactly when they would be resolved. “We waited for a little over two hours and that’s when people started getting restless and a girl three rows down from me passed out. She was on the floor convulsing," said Melcher. A video shared to Facebook shows a group of passengers trying to help cool off a woman lying in the aisle of the flight. The woman who shared the video claimed in her post that passengers were kept on the plane for too long, and that she overheated. Southwest Airlines has not provided us with information we requested about whether the passenger suffered a heat-related illness. However, a spokesman for the Palm Springs Fire Department confirmed to News Channel 3 that first responders responded to a medical aid call at the airport involving a woman in the same time frame when the ordeal occurred. Melcher said she started feeling faint and that the airline waited more than two hours to distribute water to passengers who were waiting on the tarmac. There are rules to protect airline passengers when it comes to tarmac delays, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. • Airlines must return planes to the gate and let passengers off anytime a flight is sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours (domestic). • Airlines must also provide passengers with adequate food and water within the first two hours of any tarmac delay. • Adequate toilet facilities must be maintained and made available to passengers during the delay. • Airlines must post and maintain tarmac delay contingency plans on their websites. • Melcher told News Channel 3 she reached out to Southwest Airlines and shared details about her experience, after which she received a $300 airline voucher. “I want the airline to maybe reconsider their rules and regulations on keeping people on that tarmac for over a period of time especially in the temperatures that were reached,” said Melcher. https://kesq.com/news/local-news/2023/07/31/passenger-demands-change-from-southwest-airlines-after-woman-passes-out-on-hot-plane/ Frontier Airlines Involuntarily Bumps Passengers More Than Any Other US Airline More than eight times as likely to involuntarily deny boarding as the next airline. A Frontier Airlines Airbus A320-351 taking off.Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying SUMMARY • Frontier Airlines has the highest rate of involuntary denied boardings among major US carriers, bumping 3.73 passengers per 10,000. • Envoy Air and Spirit Airlines were the next worst performers, with a rate of 0.45 passengers per 10,000 being involuntarily bumped. • Endeavor Air and Delta had the highest rate of voluntary bumps, with 9.7 and 7 per 10,000 passengers, respectively. Frontier Airlines continues to involuntarily bump more passengers on average than any other major US carrier. In fact, the ultra-low-cost carrier is more than eight times as likely to involuntarily deny boarding to passengers than the next worst airline. Frontier is the biggest US bumper According to the latest Air Travel Consumer Report from the US Department of Transportation (DOT), the Denver-based airline involuntarily bumped 3.73 passengers per 10,000, far more than other airlines in the US. Between January and March this year, Frontier involuntarily denied boarding to 2,442 out of a total of 6,547,477 booked passengers - the ULCC also came out on top for the same period last year at an even higher rate of 4.85 involuntary bumps per 10,000 travelers. The next worst airlines for involuntary bumps were Envoy Air and Spirit Airlines - both at a rate of 0.45 passengers per 10,000 - followed by PSA Airlines (0.43) and American Airlines (0.33). Four airlines managed to go through this three-month period without a single involuntary bump - Delta Air Lines, Allegiant Air, Endeavor Air and Hawaiian Airlines. Three other major carriers - United Airlines (0.01), JetBlue Airways (0.02) and Alaska Airlines (0.06) - kept their rates much lower than the average of 0.29 across the top 15 US airlines. On a positive note, statistics show the rate of both involuntary and voluntary denied boardings have dropped in the past year. From January to March 2022, involuntary bumps were at 0.44 per 10,000 passengers, while voluntary bumps were at 4.5 per 10,000. Nearly 40 denied Frontier flights As reported today by FOX 35, almost 40 passengers were denied boarding for their Frontier flights out of Orlando International Airport (MCO), many of which were left waiting days for a new flight. During their ordeal, many passengers claimed the airline failed to provide promised vouchers and sent them from one desk to another without resolving their problem. Bumped passengers are usually entitled to compensation, but this isn't always the case - for example, if the airline switches to a smaller aircraft for safety/operational reasons, you may not be. Endeavor and Delta lead voluntary bumps Frontier also voluntarily bumped 3,395 travelers - a rate of 5.1 per 10,000 - but didn't come out on top in this regard. Instead, Endeavor Air led the way with 9.7 voluntary bumps per 10,000 passengers, followed by Delta at a rate of 7 per 10,000. Bumping happens as a result of airlines overselling flights. While it may at first glance seem unethical for carriers to do this, it is standard practice across the industry as a small percentage of passengers don't show up to their flights. Given the narrow margins airlines are operating at, they tend to oversell a small proportion of each flight to cover for inevitable no-shows. https://simpleflying.com/frontier-airlines-involuntarily-bumps-passengers-more-us-airlines/ Saudia to acquire 20 Airbus A321neo aircraft by 2026 The aircraft provides a new level of comfort, carrying 180 to 220 passengers in a conventional two-class interior configuration. RIYADH: As part of its expansion drive to meet growing demand, the Kingdom’s national carrier Saudia plans to add 20 fuel-efficient Airbus A321neo aircraft to its fleet by 2026. The aircraft provides a new level of comfort, carrying 180 to 220 passengers in a conventional two-class interior configuration. It is part of the A320 family, which is the world’s most widely used single-aisle aircraft family. https://www.arabnews.com/node/2347871/business-economy Boeing 737 Rate May Not Stabilize At 38 Anytime Soon, Data Suggests Boeing is steadily ramping up 737 program production, but recent history suggests it could be well into 2024 before the company stabilizes at pushing out 38 new aircraft every month. The company confirmed during its July 26 earnings call that it is “transitioning” to 38 per month from the most recent stable rate of 31. Boeing does not release details on monthly rollouts and has been open about up-and-down figures as it reaches a new rate and then works to stay there. “As we move to the higher rate, we’ll continue to prioritize stability, and it will take some time to consistently deliver at 38 per month off the line,” CFO Brian West said. Boeing’s last official rate increase, to 31, came last year. The company said in early July 2022 that it had reached Rate 31 in June, adding that supply chain uncertainty meant it would take time to stabilize at 31 per month. Figures compiled by consultancy Aero Analysis Partners (AAP), which tracks monthly rollouts by program, show Boeing rolled out at least 31 737s in March and June 2022. But the company did not start consistently pushing out at least 31 per month until December 2022. This year’s climb to 38 could be on a similar path. AAP figures show Boeing rolled out 40 737s in June, but the July figure was about half of that as of the earnings call, according to an AAP analysis seen by Aviation Week. Looking ahead, Boeing is less concerned about the timing of monthly milestones than the top-end target. The company’s current plan sees a monthly rate of 50 aircraft in 2025 or 2026. Company executives insist that how it gets there is not materially important. The 38 rate “has to come and has to come in a stable form so that we’re not up and down every month,” Calhoun said on the earnings call. “But maybe more important than that, we now have such good visibility into the supply chain. We know whether they’re ready for the next [rates] for 40, 42, 44, etcetera.” While supply-chain uncertainty will likely linger into 2024, several positive developments could help Boeing reach its higher rates sooner. It is adding production-line capacity in the form of two new lines—one that recently restarted at its long-time Renton narrowbody facility, and a new line in Everett, better known for widebody production. How quickly those lines come up to speed and can be counted on to produce at a regular, accretive rate will help determine how fast 737 program production hits, or perhaps surpasses, 50 aircraft per month. https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/manufacturing-supply-chain/boeing-737-rate-may-not-stabilize-38-anytime-soon-data Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia tests palm oil-blended jet fuel JAKARTA, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia GIAA.JK said on Tuesday it is testing jet fuel mixed with palm oil in the engines of one of its Boeing aircraft, amid efforts to cut emissions in the aviation sector. Indonesia, the world' biggest producer of palm oil, is keen to expand use of the vegetable oil in fuels to slash imports of expensive fossil fuels. This year, it rolled out the use of biodiesel containing 35% palm oil, the highest mandatory mix in the world, up from 30% last year. Garuda said in a statement the jet fuel, which contains 2.4% palm oil, is being tested on CFM56-7B engines of a B737-800 NG aircraft. It added the test was launched last week. "This initiation is our first step to support a green and sustainable economy, and make us a pioneer as the first commercial airline in Indonesia to carry out trials of renewable energy," Garuda chief executive Irfan Setiaputra said in the statement. The engine test will be followed by ground and flight tests later in August, the energy ministry said. The country in 2021 ran a flight test with the same fuel on an aircraft made by state-owned Dirgantara Indonesia, which flew from the city Bandung in West Java to the capital Jakarta. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/flag-carrier-garuda-indonesia-tests-palm-oil-blended-jet-fuel Curt Lewis