Flight Safety Information - March 28, 2024 No. 064 In This Issue : Incident: United B764 at Newark on Mar 26th 2024, hydraulic problem : Incident: Delta A21N at Lihue on Mar 25th 2024, bird strike : Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 17 & 18 September - London : Incident: France A321 at Nice on Mar 23rd 2024, reverser fault indication : Airbus A380-861 - Ground Damage (Russia) : ‘Shortcuts Everywhere’: How Boeing Favored Speed Over Quality : Boeing’s new fixer is no engineer – and the industry is worried : Bizarre Accident At Kolkata Airport Damages Wingtips Of 2 Aircraft (India) : Shreveport woman federally indicted for pointing laser at aircraft : Airplane evacuated after odor detected at Charlotte airport, 1 taken to hospital : How Many Aircraft Does the US Air Force Have? : NBAA Extends Part 91 Subpart F Benefits For Smaller Aircraft : EasyJet, Ryanair Plan Standby Aircraft To Stabilize Summer Ops : Top European air safety regulator warns over budget squeeze : Call for Nominations For 2024 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: United B764 at Newark on Mar 26th 2024, hydraulic problem A United Boeing 767-400, registration N78060 performing flight UA-963 from Berlin (Germany) to Newark,NJ (USA), was on approach to Newark when the crew reported a hydraulic problem. The aircraft went around, positioned for another approach and landed safely on runway 04L. The FAA reported: "United Airlines Flight 963 landed safely at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey around 12:50 p.m. local time on Tuesday, March 26, after the crew reported a possible hydraulic issue. The Boeing 767 was traveling from Berlin, Germany. The FAA will investigate." https://avherald.com/h?article=516a1fbf&opt=0 Incident: Delta A21N at Lihue on Mar 25th 2024, bird strike A Delta Airlines Airbus A321-200N, registration N550DN performing flight DL-344 from Seattle,WA to Lihue,HI (USA) with 185 people on board, landed on Lihue's runway 35 when a bird impacted the nose of the aircraft. The aircraft rolled out without further incident. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT LANDED AND STRUCK A BIRD DAMAGING THE NOSE, LIHUE, HI." The return flight was cancelled. The aircraft is still on the ground in Lihue about 14 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=516a1c28&opt=0 Incident: France A321 at Nice on Mar 23rd 2024, reverser fault indication An Air France Airbus A321-200, registration F-GMZD performing flight AF-7312 from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Nice (France), was on approach to Nice when the crew aborted the descent due to a reverser fault indication and entered a hold to work the related checklists. The aircraft subsequently positioned for another approach to Nice's runway 22R for a safe landing. The aircraft returned to service after about 8 hours on the ground. https://avherald.com/h?article=516a1525&opt=0 Airbus A380-861 - Ground Damage (Russia) Date: Wednesday 27 March 2024 Time: Type: Airbus A380-861 Owner/operator: Emirates Registration: A6-EDM MSN: 42 Year of manufacture: 2010 Engine model: Engine Alliance GP 7270 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Aircraft damage: Substantial Location: Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME/UUDD) - Russia Phase: Standing Nature: Passenger - Scheduled Departure airport: Moskva-Domodedovo Airport (DME/UUDD) Destination airport: Dubai Airport (DXB/OMDB) Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources Narrative: An Emirates Airbus A380 (A6-EDM) sustained significant damage when the driver of a service vehicle (a water carrier) crashed into the aircraft. Flight EK134 Moscow - Dubai has been cancelled. https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/373638 ‘Shortcuts Everywhere’: How Boeing Favored Speed Over Quality Problems have plagued the manufacturer even after two fatal crashes, and many current and former employees blame its focus on making planes more quickly. In February last year, a new Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max plane was on one of its first flights when an automated stabilizing system appeared to malfunction, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing soon after they took off. Less than two months later, an Alaska Airlines 737 Max plane with eight hours of total flight time was briefly grounded until mechanics resolved a problem with a fire detection system. And in November, an engine on a just-delivered United Airlines 737 Max failed at 37,000 feet. These incidents, which the airlines disclosed to the Federal Aviation Administration, were not widely reported. There were no indications that anyone was in danger, and it was not clear who was ultimately responsible for those problems. But since Jan. 5, when a panel on a two-month-old Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet blew off in midair, episodes like these have taken on new resonance, raising further questions about the quality of the planes Boeing is producing. “There’s a lot of areas where things don’t seem to be put together right in the first place,” said Joe Jacobsen, an engineer and aviation safety expert who spent more than a decade at Boeing and more than 25 years at the F.A.A. “The theme is shortcuts everywhere — not doing the job right,” he added. Such reports, and interviews with aviation safety experts and more than two dozen current and former Boeing employees, paint a worrying picture about a company long considered to be at the pinnacle of American engineering. They suggest that Boeing is struggling to improve quality years after two crashes of Max 8 planes in 2018 and 2019 killed nearly 350 people. Some of the crucial layers of redundancies that are supposed to ensure that Boeing’s planes are safe appear to be strained, the people said. The experience level of Boeing’s work force has dropped since the start of the pandemic. The inspection process intended to provide a vital check on work done by its mechanics has been weakened over the years. And some suppliers have struggled to adhere to quality standards while producing parts at the pace Boeing wanted them. Under pressure to show regulators, airlines and passengers that the company is taking its latest crisis seriously, Boeing announced sweeping changes to its leadership on Monday. The chief executive, Dave Calhoun, will leave at the end of the year, and Stan Deal, the head of the commercial planes division, which makes the 737 Max, retired immediately. The company’s chairman, Larry Kellner, stepped down from that position and will not seek re-election to the board. When he took the top job in January 2020, Mr. Calhoun said he was determined to improve the company’s safety culture. It added directors with engineering and safety expertise and created a safety committee on its board. Boeing said that it had increased the number of quality inspectors for commercial planes by 20 percent since 2019 and that inspections per plane had also risen. After the Max 8 crashes, Boeing and its regulators focused most on the cause of those accidents: flawed design and software. Yet some current and former employees say problems with manufacturing quality were also apparent to them at the time and should have been to executives and regulators as well. After the Jan. 5 mishap, a six-week F.A.A. audit of Boeing’s 737 Max production documented dozens of lapses in Boeing’s quality-control practices. The agency has given the company three months, or until about late May, to address quality-control issues. Federal officials have traced the panel blowout to Boeing’s factory in Renton, Wash., where the 737 Max is assembled. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the panel was removed but appeared to have been reinstalled without bolts that secured it in place. That panel is known as a “door plug” and is used to cover the gap left by an unneeded emergency exit. Current and former Boeing employees said the incident reflected longstanding problems. Several said employees often faced intense pressure to meet production deadlines, sometimes leading to questionable practices that they feared could compromise quality and safety. Davin Fischer, a former mechanic in Renton, who also spoke to the Seattle TV station KIRO 7, said he noticed a cultural shift starting around 2017, when the company introduced the Max. “They were trying to get the plane rate up and then just kept crunching, crunching and crunching to go faster, faster, faster,” he said. The Max was introduced in response to a new fuel-efficient plane from the European manufacturer Airbus. Boeing increased production from about 42 Max jets a month in early 2017 to about 52 the next year. That pace collapsed to virtually zero soon after the second crash, in Ethiopia, when regulators around the world grounded the plane. Flights aboard the Max resumed in late 2020, and the company began to increase production again to avoid falling further behind Airbus. Now, some Boeing executives admit that they made mistakes. “For years, we prioritized the movement of the airplane through the factory over getting it done right, and that’s got to change,” Brian West, the company’s chief financial officer, said at an investor conference last week. Mr. Calhoun has also acknowledged that Boeing must improve but has defended the company’s approach to production. “Over the last several years, we’ve taken close care not to push the system too fast, and we have never hesitated to slow down, to halt production or to stop deliveries to take the time we need to get things right,” he said in January. Current and former Boeing employees, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters and feared retaliation, offered examples of how quality has suffered over the years. Many said they still respected the company and its employees and wanted Boeing to succeed. One quality manager in Washington State who left Boeing last year said workers assembling planes would sometimes try to install parts that had not been logged or inspected, an attempt to save time by circumventing quality procedures intended to weed out defective or substandard components. In one case, the employee said, a worker sent parts from a receiving area straight to the factory floor before a required inspection. A worker currently at Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner factory in North Charleston, S.C., described seeing numerous problems on planes being assembled, including wires being routed incorrectly, raising the risk that they could rub against one another, resulting in damage. Employees would also sometimes go “inspector shopping” to find someone who would approve work, the worker said. Some of the concerns echoed accusations of quality lapses by several whistle-blowers at Boeing’s South Carolina factory who spoke to The Times in 2019. Several current and former employees in South Carolina and in Washington State said mechanics building planes were allowed in some instances to sign off on their own work. Such “self-verification” removes a crucial layer of quality control, they said. Boeing said in a statement on Wednesday that it had eliminated self-inspections in South Carolina in 2021 and that the practice accounted for less than 10 percent of inspections at other sites. The company inspects each plane before delivery to make sure that wire bundles are appropriately spaced, the statement said, and it does not allow inspector shopping. Another factor at play in recent years has been that Boeing’s workers have less experience than they did before the pandemic. When the pandemic took hold in early 2020, air travel plummeted, and many aviation executives believed it would take years for passengers to return in large numbers. Boeing began to cut jobs and encouraged workers to take buyouts or retire early. It ultimately lost about 19,000 employees companywide — including some with decades of experience. In late 2022, Boeing lost veteran engineers who retired to lock in bigger monthly pension payments, which were tied to interest rates, according to the union that represents them, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace. More than 1,700 union members left the company that year, up from around 1,000 the year before. The members who left had been at the company for more than 23 years on average. “We warned Boeing that it was going to lose a mountain of expertise, and we proposed some workarounds, but the company blew us off,” Ray Goforth, executive director of the union, said in a statement, adding that he thought the company used the retirements as an opportunity to cut costs by replacing veteran workers with “lower-paid entry-level engineers and technical workers.” Boeing now employs 171,000 people, including in its commercial plane, defense, services and other divisions. That figure is up about 20 percent from the end of 2020. But many new workers are less seasoned, current and former employees said. One Boeing employee who conducted quality inspections in Washington State until last year said the company did not always provide new employees with sufficient training, sometimes leaving them to learn crucial skills from more experienced colleagues. Boeing said that since Jan. 5, employees had asked for more training and that it was working on meeting those needs, including by adding training on the factory floor this month. District 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, which represents more than 30,000 Boeing employees, said the average tenure of its members had dropped sharply in recent years. The proportion of its members who have less than six years of experience has roughly doubled to 50 percent from 25 percent before the pandemic. After the Jan. 5 incident, Boeing announced changes to improve quality, including adding inspections at its factory in Renton and at the plant in Wichita, Kan., owned by a supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, that makes the bodies of Max planes. The Alaska Airlines plane that was forced to make an emergency landing in January after a piece of its fuselage blew out in midair. Because it could take Boeing time address its issues, some carriers said they expected to buy fewer aircraft from the company.Credit...Amanda Lucier for The New York Times Boeing recently said it would no longer accept Max bodies from Spirit that still needed substantial work. It previously tolerated flaws that could be fixed later in the interest of keeping production on schedule. Addressing its problems could take Boeing time, aviation experts said, frustrating airlines that need new planes. Some carriers said recently that they were rejiggering their growth plans because they expected fewer planes from Boeing. Airlines may try to buy more from Airbus. “They need to go slow to go fast,” Scott Kirby, the chief executive of United Airlines, told investors this month, referring to Boeing. “I think they’re doing that.” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/28/business/boeing-quality-problems-speed.html Boeing’s new fixer is no engineer – and the industry is worried After the latest twist in its five-year manufacturing and safety nightmare, Boeing took drastic action this week and ousted its chief executive and chairman. The clear-out at the top made headlines, but within aerospace it was the replacement of engineer Stan Deal, head of Boeing’s airliner unit, that posed most questions. Stephanie Pope, who has a background in finance, may now determine the future of the crisis-hit 737 Max model, and with it Boeing’s chances of restoring its tarnished reputation and shattered finances. The reaction to the move from within the industry suggests many are far from convinced that Pope, 51, can deliver the turnaround required. Alaska Airlines blowout Boeing The Alaska Airlines blowout in January sent Boeing into turmoil Her appointment comes weeks after a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max-9 at 16,000 feet, causing an uncontrolled decompression of the cabin that left passengers fearing for their lives. Checks found that four bolts designed to hold the plug in place were missing, with further investigations bringing to light a litany of quality-control and manufacturing issues across the 737 programme. Though an aerospace veteran who has racked up almost three decades at Boeing, experts say Pope lacks the engineering experience needed to deal with such extensive production problems. Deal, who joined Boeing in 1997 through its merger with McDonnell Douglas, holds a degree in aerospace engineering and worked in key positions on the 717 and MD-11 jetliner programmes. Pope, by contrast, graduated in accountancy and rose through the ranks via a number of financial management roles. She later took charge of a services division that helps support airline customers. While Pope’s most recent position as Boeing’s chief operating officer gave her oversight of quality control, engineering, manufacturing and the supply chain, she’d been in the job only since January, hardly time to develop an intimate understanding of the issues plaguing the 737 Max. Stan Deal Pope takes over from Stan Deal, who has been in charge since 2019 Taking the reins at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, as the jetliner business is known, will require a far more hands-on approach and an inevitably steep learning curve. Deal was appointed to run BCA in 2019 after the Max was grounded worldwide in the wake of two fatal crashes that killed 346 people, later blamed on software that intervened in the flying of the aircraft. The plane returned to the skies at the end of 2020 and Boeing has been striving to accelerate build rates ever since as it seeks to ship hundreds of delayed planes to disgruntled airlines. At the same time it has encountered a series of manufacturing glitches, culminating in the Alaska Airlines incident. Lee Hamilton, an aviation industry consultant with Leeham, says the problems are technical, not financial, and that a technical understanding should therefore be a prerequisite for anyone leading BCA. He says: “I’m completely perplexed that Stephanie Pope has been made CEO of commercial aircraft. Nobody across the industry who I’ve spoken with can understand it.” Hamilton says he was also contacted by a New York banker who expressed dismay at the news. Deal probably had to go after four years during which he failed to resolve the quality-control problems, but a better choice to lead BCA would have been another woman, Elizabeth Lund, the division’s senior vice president of quality, according to Hamilton. She has a degree in mechanical engineering and previously occupied posts including general manager of aircraft programmes, head of the 777, 747, and 767 programmes, and manager of Boeing’s sprawling Everett assembly plant near Seattle. The jetliner arm of arch-rival Airbus has been led since January by a non-engineer in the shape of former sales chief Christian Scherer, though the company shares few of the production challenges currently confronting Boeing. At stake for the US behemoth is its near-term profitability and standing with airlines, passengers and regulators, as well as its ability to compete with Airbus in future. The European firm sprinted ahead in deliveries following the 737 Max crashes and the model’s subsequent grounding, and Boeing has made little headway towards closing the gap, delivering 528 planes in total last year against 735 at Airbus. Already struggling to lift monthly production rates, Boeing was forced by the Federal Aviation Administration to put plans for a rapid increase this year on hold in the wake of the Alaska blowout, after a probe identified “unacceptable quality-assurance issues”. Boeing failed 33 of 89 tests carried out by the FAA as part of a six-week audit of the 737 Max production process, while Spirit AeroSystems, which supplied the door plug, failed seven of 13, the New York Times reported this month. Issues identified included five with the plug and others involving a cargo door and the installation of cockpit windows. Among irregular practices identified were the use of a hotel key card to assess door-seal integrity, and the application of washing up liquid as a lubricant to help fit the same seals. Boeing has previously failed a number of tests in an audit of its manufacturing process The FAA has also highlighted non-compliance concerns in parts handling and storage, and product control. The delivery of 50 planes has separately been delayed by the discovery of improperly drilled holes in their fuselages. Such has been the impact of the Max crisis on Boeing’s business that the airliner sector, once a cosy duopoly, is beginning to look permanently lopsided, with Airbus as the dominant player and the American firm a poor relation, in the narrowbody market at least. Sash Tusa, an aviation analyst at Agency Partners, says a key factor in Boeing’s decline has been an absence of executives with a deep understanding of manufacturing at the top. He says: “If Boeing is going to sort out this mess it needs to put engineers into senior positions. It’s the hollowing out of their engineering expertise that’s at the heart of all of these problems.” Like Pope, chief executive Dave Calhoun, who will depart by December, holds a degree in accounting. Before joining Boeing in 2020 he worked for six years as head of portfolio operations at investment firm Blackstone. While he spent 26 years at General Electric, including the jet-engine arm, he worked mainly in finance and marketing roles. Sir Tim Clark, the veteran head of Dubai-based Emirates, the world’s largest long-haul airline, said in comments after the reshuffle was announced that Boeing “needs a strong engineering lead as its head”, coupled with governance that prioritises safety and quality. He also backed calls from the US machinists union for a seat on the board, so that concerns from the factory floor can be better understood. He said: “Time, unfortunately, is not on their side. I would suggest that some serious lateral thinking kicks in as soon as possible.” Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary, was more conciliatory, releasing a video in which he said he looked forward to working with Pope, as well as Calhoun for the rest of his tenure, to eliminate 737 delivery delays. O’Leary, who has said he’ll be looking for compensation for the impact of the delays on summer capacity, is himself a qualified accountant, having been employed at KPMG before working as a financial adviser to Ryanair founder Tony Ryan. Unlike Calhoun and chairman Larry Kellner, who will exit after Boeing’s annual shareholder meeting in May, Deal departed straight away, leaving Pope to take immediate charge of the airliner division and its troubles. Despite the industry’s reservations, she’s also being touted in some quarters as a possible successor to Calhoun himself, alongside General Electric boss Larry Culp, Carrier Global head David Gitlin and others. A better choice for chief executive, Tusa says, might be Patrick Shanahan, chief of Spirit Aero, which Boeing is in talks to buy. Shanahan has been in the top job at Spirit since October, when he was brought in on an interim basis to troubleshoot problems including earlier production errors concerning components supplied to the 737. Prior to that he worked for more than 30 years at Boeing, occupying management roles across the full range of the company’s civil aircraft and leading the recovery of the 787 Dreamliner widebody programme after it was beset by production glitches that led to a three-year delay in service entry. He left in 2019 for a two-year stint as Donald Trump’s deputy defence secretary. The challenge facing Pope, the 737 Max and Boeing as a whole aren’t limited to the production line. Even before the crashes and manufacturing crisis the plane was struggling to match the sales success of the Airbus A320neo series narrowbody. While both models are re-engined versions of older aircraft, the Airbus jet was less constrained by the limits of how far its design could be expanded. That’s reflected in sales tallies, with the 737 Max accruing fewer than 6,500 orders, compared with more than 10,000 for the A320neo, including 500-plus for a variant that can fly further than any Max. So popular is the Airbus jet that new purchasers face a wait of several years for it to be delivered, something that’s paradoxically helping to sustain interest in the Boeing model, which is more easily available. Tusa says: “It’s come to something when Boeing’s best-selling plane is getting orders really only because Airbus has no spare capacity. Boeing has to sort out the production issues, of course, but it also needs to recognise that it has a deeper problem in that the Max is simply not competitive.’’ The only answer is to begin work on a successor to the Max now, he says, rather than offering one by the mid-2030s as currently envisaged, something that would further add to Pope’s worry list. A Boeing spokesman said that about half of Pope’s leadership team is made up of engineers. The company also cited comments from Calhoun in a message to staff in which he said that she had “a proven track record of superb leadership”. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-fixer-no-engineer-industry-100000904.html Bizarre Accident At Kolkata Airport Damages Wingtips Of 2 Aircraft (India) A Darbhanga-bound IndiGo aircraft, taxiing at the Kolkata Airport, hit a stationary Air India Express flight waiting for clearance to enter the runway. A part of Air India Express plane's wing fell on the runway, while the IndiGo flight's wing was dented A Darbhanga-bound IndiGo aircraft, taxiing at the Kolkata Airport, hit a stationary Air India Express flight waiting for clearance to enter the runway. A part of the Air India Express aircraft's wing that was hit fell on the runway, while the IndiGo aircraft's wing was dented. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA, has off-rostered both the IndiGo A320 VT-ISS pilots and ordered a detailed probe, reported news agency ANI. "We have ordered a detailed investigation into the matter and both the pilots of IndiGo airlines have been off-rostered. The ground staff will also be questioned during the investigation. Both the flights have been grounded for detailed inspection," a DGCA official said. The IndiGo aircraft had 135 passengers on board, including four infants. "A minor graze between a taxiing IndiGo aircraft and that of another carrier was reported from Kolkata Airport. The aircraft returned to the bay for inspection and necessary action, per protocol," the low-cost carrier said, adding that an incident report has been filed with the aviation regulator DGCA. "Consequently, IndiGo flight 6E 6152 between Kolkata and Darbhanga has been delayed," it added. Refreshments were given to all passengers and an alternative aircraft was arranged. "IndiGo prioritises passenger safety above all else. An incident report will be submitted to DGCA in due course," the carrier said. Speaking about the incident, an Air India Express spokesperson said, "The wingtip of a taxiing aircraft of another airline grazed one of our aircraft, which was stationary and awaiting clearance to enter the runway at Kolkata for a scheduled operation to Chennai. The aircraft has since returned to the bay and further investigation is underway, for which we are coordinating with the regulator and airport authorities. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to guests due to external circumstances." The Kolkata airport, in an incident report, said, "At 11:10 am, received information from ATC that one aircraft IX 1886 (VT-TGG) report wingtip vortices hit. Observed wingtip vortices of aircraft IX 1886 are missing and wingtip vortices of aircraft 6E 6152 have dents." https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/taxiing-indigo-aircraft-grazes-air-india-express-plane-at-kolkata-airport-5320545 Shreveport woman federally indicted for pointing laser at aircraft SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Shreveport woman who was arrested last year for pointing a laser at multiple aircraft was indicted in federal court Wednesday. The indictment charges April Poitras, 45, with two counts of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, which is a violation of federal law. In August of last year, Poitras allegedly aimed the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft and at the flight path of a Cessna 172L aircraft and an Airbus H125 aircraft. Woman arrested after pointing a laser light at police helicopter crew If convicted, Poitras faces a sentence of up to 5 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count in the indictment. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, Blanchard Police Department, and Baltimore Police Department. https://www.ktalnews.com/news/crime/shreveport-woman-federally-indicted-for-pointing-laser-at-aircraft/ Airplane evacuated after odor detected at Charlotte airport, 1 taken to hospital • Frontier Airlines said Flight 1759 was evacuated out of precaution before taking off. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Passengers were evacuated from an airplane at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport on Wednesday night after a strong odor was detected, officials confirmed. A Frontier Airlines spokesperson said Flight 1759 was evacuated out of precaution, and that there was no visible sign of smoke or fire within the airplane. Passengers were taken off the plane through both the jet bridge, as well as evacuation slides. Fire trucks and ambulances were spotted at the scene, and a WBTV crew saw one person on a stretcher inside the airport. Medic said the person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries from a fall. Emergency radio traffic captured the moments following the injury. “Start me MEDIC to Alpha 22 (Gate A22) for a knee injury,” a firefighter said over the radio. “A Frontier aircraft 321 (Airbus 321) had a dual slide deployment, from both rear doors. Also send security, we have multiple passengers on the tarmac.” A total of 226 passengers were aboard the plane, which was getting ready to leave Charlotte en route to Orlando. The spokesperson apologized to passengers and said they will be reaccommodated on alternate flights. Frontier is is investigating the cause of the odor. https://www.wbtv.com/2024/03/28/airplane-evacuated-after-odor-detected-charlotte-airport-1-taken-hospital/ How Many Aircraft Does the US Air Force Have? • The US Air Force is the largest in the world with over 5,000 aircraft spread across 10 Major Commands. SUMMARY • USAF has over 5,000 aircraft, from F-22s to B-52s, assigned to 10 Major Commands. • Major Commands like ACC, AMC, and AFGSC are vital to national defense missions. • AETC trains new pilots on various aircraft models, preparing them for service. The United States Air Force is the largest air force in the world with 5,189 aircraft in active use all over the world according to the World Directory of Military Aircraft (WDMMA). These range from the 5th generation fighters like the F-22 and F-35 to a bomber approaching 75 years of service (B-52) to special VIP transport that makes sure high ranking government officials travel in comfort and security. In terms of largest air forces, the US Army (4,397 aircraft) and US Navy (2,626 aircraft) would rank 2nd and 4th respectively if they were separate forces. Russia (3,652 aircraft) and China (2,084 aircraft) are third and fifth in overall numbers. Air Force aircraft are assigned to one of the ten Major Commands (MAJCOM) based on that organization’s stated mission and needs. Here, we take a look at the fleets operated by each of the 10 MAJCOMs. Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is headquartered at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia and has the following mission statement: “ACC organizes, trains and equips Airmen who fight in and from multiple domains to control the air, space and cyberspace.” This command has 1,097 aircraft ranging from Attack aircraft (A-10, AC-130), Fighter /Air Superiority (F-15, F-16, F-22, F-35), Electronic Warfare (E-3, E-8, EC-130, E-11A), Tankers (KC-135, MC-130), Transport (C-17, C-130J), Reconnaissance (C-12, RC-135W), Rotary Wing (HH-60) and Unmanned Systems (MQ-1, MQ-9, RQ-4, RQ-170). Air Mobility Command Air Mobility Command (AMC) is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois and provides heavy lift, transport, and refueling services. The commands mission statement is Air Mobility Command provides unrivaled airlift, air refueling, aeromedical evacuation, global air mobility support and Global Mobility Mission Command to project, connect, maneuver and sustain the Joint Force to achieve national objectives. The fleet includes heavy lift aircraft (C5, C17), Tactical Transport (C-130, C-130J, LC-130, WC-130), Tanker aircraft (KC-46, KC-10, KC-135) and VIP Transport (VC-25, C-20, C-32, C-37, C-21, C-40). Air Force Global Strike Command Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) is headquartered at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana and provides global strike capabilities via the B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, and the B-52 Flying Fortress. AFGSC’s mission statement is “Airmen providing strategic deterrence, global strike and combat support…anytime, anywhere!” Prior to the reorganization of Air Force MAJCOM’s in 1993, the aircraft under AFGSC were assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC) and were responsible for nuclear deterrence during the Cold War. Air Education and Training Command Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. AETC’s mission statement is “Find, recruit, train, and educate the Airman the nation needs.” This is evident as AETC is responsible for the entire educational life cycle of new airmen and specifically new pilots. Pilot training begins in the T-34 and T-6 aircraft before moving on to the T-38 or T-1 depending on if they are advancing to fighter/bombers or airlift/tanker aircraft. Once initial pilot training is complete the students will be assigned a type aircraft and begin training on that specifically. AETC has an inventory of F-15, F-16, F-35, C-17, C-130J, CV-22, KC-135, KC-46, and H-60/H-1 rotary wing aircraft. Air Force Material Command Air Force Material Command (AFMC) is headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. AFMC does not have a direct warfighting mission but rather is responsible for designing, acquiring, and testing new equipment. Their mission statement is, “Powering the world’s greatest Air Force…We develop, deliver, support, and sustain war winning capabilities.” AFMC does have aircraft assigned as test bed equipment and transportation for personnel and material. At least one of every current Air Force aircraft is assigned to AFMC with the F-16 being the most popular (22 total aircraft) and the T-38 the second most popular (13 aircraft) Air Force Reserve Command Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is headquartered at Robbins AFB, Georgia. Their mission statement is, “Provide strike, air mobility, special operations forces, rescue, aeromedical evacuation, aerial firefighting and spraying, weather reconnaissance, cyber space operations, ISR, space, flying training, and other capabilities to support the Active-duty force and assist with domestic and foreign disaster relief.” AFRC has a diverse range of aircraft ranging from A-10/F-16/F-35 to B-52 and C-130’s of multiple variations. Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) is headquartered at Hurlbert Field, FL and provides aerial support to special operations units across the globe. Due to their specialized mission AFSOC has a smaller number of specialized aircraft ranging from the AC-130, CV-22, MQ-9, and several other C-130 variants. Pacific Air Force Command Pacific Air Force Command (PACAF) is headquartered at Joint Base Peal Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Their mission is to, “Provide U.S. Pacific Command integrated expeditionary Air Force capabilities, including strike, air mobility, and rescue forces.” PACAF also charged with administration and command of Air Force assets in Hawaii, Alaska, and South Korea and is considered an expeditionary force. PACAF is equipped with a variety of aircraft ranging from the A-10, F-15, F-16, F-22 to transports such as the C-12, C-17, C-40 and KC-135 tankers. US Air Forces Europe/US Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFA) is headquartered in Ramstein AB, Germany. USAFE-AFA is also an expeditionary unit and has a mission of supporting Air Force operations across Europe and Africa. Their mission statement is, “Serves as the air component for U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, directing air operations, including warfighting and humanitarian/ peacekeeping actions, and maintains combat-ready forces for NATO responsibilities”. USAFE-AFA has a wide range of aircraft available to include multiple variants of the F-15 and F-16, KC-135 tankers, C-130J and C-40 transport aircraft. https://simpleflying.com/us-air-force-fleet-size/ NBAA Extends Part 91 Subpart F Benefits For Smaller Aircraft The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has secured an extension for its Small Aircraft Exemption through the end of March 2026. Doug Carr, NBAA’s senior vice president of safety, security, sustainability, and international affairs, said, “This valuable exemption allows operators of piston-powered airplanes, small airplanes and rotorcraft to realize the cost-sharing benefits outlined in Part 91 Subpart F, making more effective use of their aircraft.” Subpart F of Part 91 was written into the regulations to accommodate the fractional-ownership business model pioneered by NetJets. NBAA said its members who operate small aircraft for business can “take advantage of the flexibility usually offered to operators of larger, turbine-powered aircraft.” NBAA members must submit a letter of intent (LOI) to the public docket to use Exemption 7897M. The letter must include detailed information on the business entity and an attestation that the operator will adhere to the terms of the exemption. Previously only available for aircraft of more than 12,500 pounds gross weight, the benefits of Subpart F include “alternative maintenance programs” and limited cost-reimbursement from passengers for certain flights. NBAA wrote: “The cost-reimbursement options of Part 91 Subpart F are useful regarding transportation of a guest on a company aircraft, the use of the aircraft by employees of a subsidiary company and other common scenarios. Time-sharing, interchange, and joint-ownership agreements are also permitted under Part 91 Subpart F.” https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/nbaa-extends-part-91-subpart-f-benefits-for-smaller-aircraft/ EasyJet, Ryanair Plan Standby Aircraft To Stabilize Summer Ops LONDON—European LCCs easyJet and Ryanair have each factored in a fleet of standby aircraft for summer 2024 to protect operational stability and schedule reliability, despite the current shortage of narrowbody aircraft. EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren told Aviation Daily he has planned 14 standby aircraft for summer 2024—up from 10-14 in 2023—from a total fleet of 346 Airbus aircraft that will be operating this financial year. Six of the standby aircraft will be UK-based, with a further six in Europe and two in Switzerland. “We’re not just basing the standby aircraft where we had them last year,” Lundgren said. “We’re looking into this summer, where we believe congestion points will be, so that’s where we will base aircraft and spare parts.” Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary told Aviation Daily he will have around eight backup aircraft, representing roughly 1% of Ryanair’s 600-aircraft fleet. O’Leary added that the remainder of Ryanair’s aircraft will be fully utilized between 5:30 a.m.-11:00 p.m. A surge in post-pandemic travel overwhelmed some European airports over recent summers, leading to operational disruption, delays, and cancellations. Aircraft delays and air traffic control (ATC) strikes have further compounded these headaches for European airlines. “There is going to be more capacity in the system this summer, which will be even more challenging,” Lundgren said, speaking on the sidelines of the recent Airlines for Europe (A4E) Summit in Brussels. Lundgren believes progress has been made in some areas that affected operations over recent summers, such as airport and ground handling readiness. “I think there were some specific issues, over the last year or so, that we probably won’t see now. But there might be other issues. We will see. Who knows? But I do think, also, that the air traffic control situation, in some cases, has improved.” One small but significant victory is a French rule change, which means air traffic controllers now must give 48 hours’ notice of their strike plans. French ATC strikes have a significant impact on European aviation because they affect overflights, even if the flight is not departing from, or arriving in France. The rule change was approved by the French government in November 2023, so this will be the first summer season since that change took effect. “It’s a big thing,” Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith told A4E delegates. “Before this, the French state—or the equivalent body that oversees air traffic control—had to guess how many people would go on strike, and that would impact our capacity. So, at least now we will have an accurate view.” During the A4E Summit, Lundgren detailed plans to quantify the emissions wasted by ATC inefficiencies on a route-by-route basis, to highlight the need for wider European airspace reform. Lundgren said easyJet has also been using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to prepare for the busy summer ahead, including schedule simulations. Additionally, the airline is using AI-based capacity optimization for aircraft allocations; building in extra turnaround time at schedule pinch points; asking Gatwick crews to report earlier for flights; and using predictive maintenance to replace aircraft parts before they fail, minimizing technical cancellations. “I think data and AI is going to be utterly transformational, from an operations point of view, in the next four to five years,” Lundgren said. He gave an example of adding 10 min. to turnarounds at midday to head-off evening congestion, delays, and cancellations, and avoid bumping up against airport curfews. This helps cut disruption costs, including passenger compensation payments. “We’ve lost efficiency and productivity, but then again, we stand a better chance to deliver really robust resilience,” Lundgren said. “We’re looking an extraordinary amount at the data, to see what happened last year. And then we can look at the congestion that we believe is going to be there this summer, and then adjust the schedule around that.” https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airlines-lessors/easyjet-ryanair-plan-standby-aircraft-stabilize-summer-ops Top European air safety regulator warns over budget squeeze COLOGNE (Reuters) - The outgoing head of Europe's aviation regulator has issued a warning over resources and called for a bigger role as it grapples with "systemic risks" in the aviation ecosystem. The call comes as the 31-nation European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) looks to address recent safety concerns with far fewer staff and resources than its U.S. counterpart, the Federal Aviation Administration. "We are struggling," EASA Acting Executive Director Luc Tytgat told Reuters in a recent interview, weeks before his retirement. Europe's main regulator has a staff of some 800 and a budget of 248 million euros ($269 million) for 2024. In contrast, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration employs over 40,000 and has a budget of nearly $20 billion. Its size partly reflects its responsibility for the world's busiest air traffic system. The two regulators have been shaping rules for new forms of aviation while addressing threats such as cyberattacks and increasing scrutiny of existing projects. "In seven years we haven't stopped re-inventing the wheel," Tytgat said. "And we have been able to grow in terms of tasks, but with the same level of resources," he said at the regulator's headquarters in Cologne overlooking the Rhine. The air safety veteran was appointed the agency's acting head last year, succeeding Patrick Ky, who was credited with boosting its influence during crises over Boeing crashes in 2018 and 2019. CHANGE COMING Next month, Tytgat will hand over European oversight to Florian Guillermet, head of France's air traffic control agency. Two months later, Europe faces a budget and political crossroads, when European Union citizens elect a new EU parliament. "I need to hope that they will increase the budget," Tytgat said, without referring to a specific timeline. EASA's current budget period runs until 2026. Around a fifth of the agency's budget is assigned by the EU's parliament, with another fifth tied to specific projects, with the lion's share, or 59%, covered by fees charged for certification work. But even as those revenues increase, EU rules make it hard for the agency to expand unless its role expands too. As aviation technology becomes more sophisticatedit is critical to watch the entire ecosystem, from runways to the skies, Tytgat said. "This systemic approach is absolutely important today." To help join the dots and prevent accidents, EASA wants to have a greater role in collecting and analysing safety data generated by modern jets. "The idea would be to connect and have the (latest) picture of what happened during the last flight accumulated here, for each flight in Europe, coming from the engine, coming from the aircraft, coming from the air traffic manager," Tytgat said. PUSHBACK The agency's call for more resources does not appear to be winning immediate favour from airlines or the EU's executive. "I've never yet met a bureaucrat who didn't want more money and a bigger budget. And you know, EASA wastes quite a lot of money," Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary told Reuters. EasyJet Chief Executive Johan Lundgren said Europe had an "astonishing" safety record. "I don't think necessarily that there needs to be more oversight from the regulator." A spokesperson for the European Commission said it "does not envisage at this stage to modify the remit of EASA". It was last extended in 2018 to cover areas such as cybersecurity, aviation research and the environmental impact of aviation. EASA already has an embryonic Data4Safety programme expected to go live later this year. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-european-air-safety-regulator-103209386.html Call for Nominations For 2024 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2024 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award, honoring a leader in global aviation safety. The Award will be presented during the 77th Annual International Air Safety Summit, taking place November 5 – 7 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Presented annually since 1956, the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award recognizes notable achievement in the field of civil or military aviation safety in method, design, invention, study, or other improvement. The Award's recipient is selected for a "significant individual or group effort contributing to improving aviation safety, with emphasis on original contributions," and a "significant individual or group effort performed above and beyond normal responsibilities." Mechanics, engineers, and others outside of top administrative or research positions should be especially considered. The contribution need not be recent, especially if the nominee has not received adequate recognition. Nominations that were not selected as past winners may be resubmitted for consideration in subsequent years. Please note that self-nominations will not be considered. The Award Committee, composed of leaders in the field of aviation, meets each year to conduct a final review of nominees and selection of the current year's recipient. Please help us identify and honor this year's most deserving recipient. Nominations, including a 1-to-2-page narrative, can be submitted via the Laura Taber Barbour Foundation website at http://ltbaward.org/the-award/nomination-form/. Nominations will be accepted through June 2, 2024. For more information, including a complete history of Award recipients, see www.ltbaward.org. About the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation and Award The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award's story dates back almost 80 years. On April 14, 1945, after visiting family in Pittsburgh, Laura Taber Barbour was aboard a Pennsylvania Central Airlines DC-3 when it crashed into the rugged terrain of Cheat Mountain near Morgantown, West Virginia. All passengers and crew were killed. In 1956 her husband, Dr. Clifford E. Barbour and son, Clifford E. Barbour, Jr., in close association with The Flight Safety Foundation, established the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award in her honor. For the past 68 years, this distinguished award recognizing outstanding achievements in aviation safety worldwide has been presented at Flight Safety Foundation’s International Aviation Safety Summit. In 2013, The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation was formed as an independent non-profit charitable organization composed of members of the Award Board, the aviation community, and the Barbour family. In addition to the annual presentation of the award, in 2019 the Foundation initiated a scholarship program that supports worthy students pursuing professional aviation studies. As the Foundation broadens its scope, the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award will continue to recognize those who significantly contributed to aviation safety. For more information on the Foundation, the award, and past winners, visit http://LTBAward.org CALENDAR OF EVENTS • 2024 ACSF Safety Symposium – Air Charter Safety Foundation - April 1-3, 2024 • Blazetech - Aircraft Fire Hazards, Protection, and Investigation Course June 4 - 7, 2024 • Airborne Public Safety Association, Inc. (APSCON 2024) - July 29 - August 3; Houston TX • Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium - APATS 2024, 0-11 September, 2024, Singapore • Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 17 & 18 September - London • 2024 Ground Handling Safety Symposium (GHSS) - September 17-18, 2024 - Fort Worth, TX • 2024 ISASI - Lisbon, Portugal - September 30 to October 4, 2024 • International Congress of Aerospace Medicine ICAM 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal, 3 - 5 October 2024 • Aviation Health Conference back on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th October 2024 • 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition - Oct. 22-24 (Vegas) Curt Lewis