Flight Safety Information - April 11, 2024 No. 074 In This Issue : Accident: ANA B789 at Tokyo on Mar 20th 2024, lightning strike : Incident: Southwest B737 at Baltimore on Apr 8th 2024, bird strike : Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 17 & 18 September - London : Accident: ACT B744 at Turkistan on Apr 3rd 2024, engine pod strike : Incident: Delta A321 at Atlanta on Apr 9th 2024, lightning strike : Incident: Canada B38M near Boise on Apr 9th 2024, cargo smoke indication : US airlines seek FAA extension of New York minimum flight requirements cuts -letter : NTSB Chair Says There Are More Boeing Door Plug Repairs : NTSB says Southwest engine cover loss caused by maintenance issue : US Congress Summons Boeing CEO to Testify on Jet Safety : Army orders pilots to ‘reinforce’ flying skills after 12 crashes in 6 months : China eyes home-grown aircraft engine, larger commercial planes with big equipment upgrades by 2027 : Airbus facing upfront costs to support jet output increase : TSA found more than 1,500 guns at airport checkpoints during 1st quarter of 2024, agency says : An Alaska Airlines passenger has watched his lost AirTag fly between 37 cities for months after it fell out of his bag : Why Has Lufthansa Canceled Flights to Iran But Austrian Airlines Keeps Flying? : PhD GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Accident: ANA B789 at Tokyo on Mar 20th 2024, lightning strike An ANA All Nippon Airways Boeing 787-9, registration JA891A performing flight NH-5 (dep Mar 19th) from Los Angeles,CA (USA) to Tokyo Narita (Japan), was on approach descending through 1500 meters (5000 feet) when the aircraft received a lightning strike. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on runway 34L. The aircraft is still on the ground in Tokyo on Apr 10th 2024. Japan's TSB reported the aircraft received damage as result of a lightning strike while descending through about 1500 meters. https://avherald.com/h?article=5173fb3c&opt=0 Incident: Southwest B737 at Baltimore on Apr 8th 2024, bird strike A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration N558WN performing flight WN-5762 from Sarasota,FL to Baltimore,MD (USA), was on approach to Baltimore when a bird impacted the aircraft. The crew continued for a safe landing on runway 10. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT STRUCK A BIRD DAMAGING LEADING EDGE, BALTIMORE, MD.", the damage was "UNKNOWN". The aircraft is still on the ground in Baltimore about 40 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=5173f8e2&opt=0 Accident: ACT B744 at Turkistan on Apr 3rd 2024, engine pod strike A ACT Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter on behalf of THY Turkish Airlines, registration TC-ACG performing flight TK-6391 from Hong Kong (China) to Turkistan (Kazakhstan), initiated a go around from very low height after the approach became unstable but struck the outboard right hand engine (CF6) onto the runway surface. The aircraft positioned for another approach and landed without further incident. The aircraft is still on the ground in Turkistan on Apr 10th 2024. According to information The Aviation Herald received the aircraft suffered structural damage, engine #4 needed to be replaced. https://avherald.com/h?article=5173e8e5&opt=0 Incident: Delta A321 at Atlanta on Apr 9th 2024, lightning strike A Delta Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration N394DX performing flight DL-1192 from New York La Guardia,NY to Atlanta,GA (USA), was on approach to Atlanta when the crew reported they had received a lightning strike. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Atlanta's runway 08L. The airline reported the aircraft declared emergency originally because of a medical condition of one of the passengers, then the crew suspected the aircraft was hit by lightning. It needs to be confirmed yet whether the aircraft was struck by lightning. Paramedics took care of the passenger. The aircraft is still on the ground in Atlanta about 24 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=5173e550&opt=0 Incident: Canada B38M near Boise on Apr 9th 2024, cargo smoke indication An Air Canada Boeing 737-8 MAX, registration C-FSIP performing flight AC-997 from Mexico City (Mexico) to Vancouver,BC (Canada) with 122 passengers and 6 crew, was enroute at FL380 about 120nm southwest of Boise,ID (USA) when the crew received a cargo smoke indication and decided to divert to Boise. The aircraft landed safely on Boise's runway 10R about 40 minutes later. A replacement Boeing 737-8 MAX reached Vancouver with a delay of about 8 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground in Boise for about 8 hours, then positioned to Vancouver and is still on the ground in Vancouver about 13 hours after landing there. The airline reported a faulty sensor caused the diversion. https://avherald.com/h?article=5173e388&opt=0 US airlines seek FAA extension of New York minimum flight requirements cuts -letter • Planes resume flights following an FAA system outage at Laguardia Airport in New York·Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Major U.S. airlines are asking the Biden administration to extend cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2025, citing air traffic controller shortages, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Under minimum flight requirements, airlines can lose their takeoff and landing slots at congested airports if they do not use them at least 80% of the time. The waiver allows airlines to not fly some flights and still retain slots. U.S. regulators in September extended those cuts through October 2024. "While the FAA made some progress in 2023, we anticipate an ongoing challenge in staffing of controllers that manage New York airspace through the end of Summer 2025 season based on FAA’s trending staffing data," said Airlines for America (A4A), the trade group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The White House has asked for funding to hire another 2,000 air traffic controllers (ATCs). Last month, the FAA said it would relocate control of the Newark, New Jersey, airspace area to Philadelphia to address staffing issues and congested traffic in the New York City area. The FAA said it and a controller union signed a memorandum to relocate control of Newark at New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) (N90) to Philadelphia Tower/TRACON by the end of June. A4A said the FAA has only added 12 certified controllers at N90 since 2022 and is still short 93 below the FAA target. "The current and foreseeable staffing levels are neither adequate to give consumers the travel experience they deserve nor are they able to maximize the efficiency of the New York City airspace," the airlines said. The FAA and Transportation Department did not immediately comment. Airlines last forecast record travel this spring. A government watchdog said in June critical ATC facilities face significant staffing challenges, posing risks to air traffic operations and said N90 staffing was at just 54%. At several facilities, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day work weeks to cover shortages and the agency is about 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/airlines-seek-faa-extension-york-164003519.html NTSB Chair Says There Are More Boeing Door Plug Repairs NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy Testifies In Senate Hearing Speaking to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee during her Nominations Hearing, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told Senators that investigators are looking into other instances of repairs where the door plug was removed and reinstalled at Boeing. A repair performed on Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 during which the door plug was opened and closed is thought to have caused the door plug blowout in-flight, when four critical arresting bolts were not re-installed. To date, the NTSB has failed to obtain any documentation of that work from Boeing and Boeing has said there was no documentation. NTSB Unsure Whether Documentation Exists For Other Door Plug Repairs During the hearing, Senator Maria Cantwell, Chair of the Committee, asked Homendy, “On this case, you’re saying in this case records don't exist, but you have other records that show when plugs were opened and closed? There are other instances where that kind of repair was documented?” Homendy replied, “There are other instances where that work would occur. We still have to review all those instances to see if that was documented.” Senator Cantwell followed up, “Ok, so you don't know whether those were documented yet or not?” Homendy replied, “Not yet. But we do have the information.” Whether or not other instances of this type of repair where properly documented would be critical in determining whether the door plug repair on the Alaska Airlines plane should have had similar documentation, in keeping with aviation safety standards that require full traceability of work, or whether Boeing has a history of performing undocumented repairs. Following NTSB requests for work records on the repairs, Boeing has previously responded “if the door plug removal was undocumented there would be no documentation to share.” Finding other instances of “undocumented work” performed on Boeing aircraft would raise fresh questions about the integrity of Boeing’s Safety Management Systems. However, Homendy suggested that the missing documentation on the Alaska Airlines repair was an exception. “The records don't exist that what we are looking for, but that is, what we would call, an escape from normal process,” Homendy said. “We are looking at other instances where a door plug was opened and closed, to make sure those records are available. We are looking at how this happened.” Homendy also informed Senators that NTSB investigators are back at Boeing’s facilities in Renton this week conducting interviews of Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration representatives. “I don't think there is anyone from Boeing from Dave Calhoun down that doesn't want to know what happened here,” Homendy told the Committee. “They want to know and they want to fix it. And we are there to help. But we are also there to look at what more can be done, what the safety culture is, what the safety management system is — it is relatively new – how that can be improved, and their quality management system. We do have a lot of work to do.” Possible NTSB Survey Of Safety Culture At Boeing Homendy also suggested to the Committee that the NTSB might conduct a safety culture survey similar to a survey recently issued to 20,000 employees of Norfolk SouthernNSC -1.5%. “It is an anonymous survey to learn about safety culture,” Homendy said. “The leadership at Norfolk Southern also wants to know. We are getting a great response. And we could do that here.” Homendy said the decision of whether to conduct the survey of Boeing employees would be up to NTSB investigators. “They are still collecting information,” she said. “That is something that they need to pursue.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisagarcia/2024/04/11/ntsb-chair-says-there-are-more-boeing-door-plug-repairs/?sh=72a36cca3603 NTSB says Southwest engine cover loss caused by maintenance issue WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The loss of an engine cover on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 on Sunday that fell off during takeoff in Denver and struck the wing flap was the result of a maintenance issue, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Wednesday. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters after a Senate hearing the airplane had been in for maintenance the night before the incident in which it lost the engine cowling. "It's a maintenance issue," Homendy said, adding the board opted not to open a formal investigation. The NTSB had sent a structural engineer who lives in Denver to look at the plane but was satisfied with its understanding of the incident. "Southwest is addressing it," she added. Prior incidents involving engine cowling have been attributed to failure to latch the fan cowl doors. Homendy said in the Southwest incident "there may be some issues with how they latch to see whether they can tell if they're locked or not. So they're going through those procedures now." The Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating, did not immediately comment on Wednesday. Southwest said it would "defer to the FAA due to the ongoing investigation into this incident." No one was injured and Southwest Flight 3695 returned safely to Denver International Airport around 8:15 a.m. local time (1415 GMT) on Sunday and was towed to the gate after losing the engine cowling. The Boeing aircraft bound for Houston Hobby airport with 135 passengers and six crew members aboard climbed to about 10,300 feet (3,140 m) before returning 25 minutes after takeoff. The plane entered service in June 2015, according to FAA records. Boeing referred questions to Southwest. The 737-800 is in the prior generation of the best-selling 737 known as the 737 NG, which in turn was replaced by the 737 MAX. Boeing has come under intense criticism since a door plug panel tore off a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 jet at 16,000 feet on Jan. 5. In the aftermath of that incident, the FAA grounded the MAX 9 for several weeks, barred Boeing from increasing the MAX production rate and ordered it to develop a comprehensive plan to address "systemic quality-control issues" within 90 days. The FAA is investigating several other recent engine issues on Southwest's fleet of Boeing planes. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/ntsb-says-southwest-engine-cover-185900025.html US Congress Summons Boeing CEO to Testify on Jet Safety A US Senate subcommittee has now summoned Boeing CEO David Calhoun to testify at its next week. The subcommittee hearing was convened to hear safety related issues raised by the new whistleblower. The latest blow for the embattled US plane manufacturer comes in the wake of new allegations relating to the 787 and 777 production lines. Yesterday it was revealed that a Boeing quality engineer had raised concerns about potential manufacturing issues that he believed could pose safety risks. Whistleblower Raises Concerns The whistleblower, a quality engineer named as Sam Salehpour, has expressed concerns about certain manufacturing processes. These were said to involve production of the 787 Dreamliner and the 777 aircraft. Salehpour has alleged potential safety risks associated with the construction of the aircraft fuselage assemblies. He detailed specifics of his concerns which broadly relate to the jointing of sub-assembly sections of the main fuselage. Sam Salehpour expressed concern about the manufacturing process after alleging Boeing was taking ‘shortcuts’ to meet production schedules. He estimated that this may impact up to 1400 aircraft from the 787 and 777 production lines. Mr Salehpour alleges that he had raised concerns with Boeing, who dismissed his approaches and failed to take them seriously. Boeing Refutes Claims Boeing has firmly refuted the allegations made and maintains full confidence in the safety of the 787 Dreamliner. The manufacturer emphasized its confidence in the aircraft’s continued service life, citing findings of its rigorous testing processes. It anticipates that it will be some three decades before the aircraft variant needs deeper maintenance to extend its operational life. The manufacturer has assured the public that the aircraft conforms with all regulatory requirements and industry standards. Congressional Hearing Scheduled Congress has scheduled a hearing for next week to investigate this matter further. The upcoming hearing will see Sam Salehpour present a detailed account of his concerns. Meanwhile, Boeing CEO David Calhoun could be facing questions from the committee. Earlier this year, Mr Calhoun announced his retirement, stepping down from the leadership role by year-end as part of a wider shakeup at the company. Boeing is still working to restore regulatory and public trust which initially began with two fatal crashes of its 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019. The manufacturer had made significant strides to improve the safety of the 737 MAX and regain regulatory approval for the aircraft. This year, the program suffered another setback when an Alaska Airlines aircraft experienced an in-flight incident. The US plane manufacturer has faced increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies since the January incident. Conclusion The congressional hearing has now been set for April 17th. This comes as the Federal Aviation Administration has also launched its own investigation into the safety concerns raised by quality engineer Sam Salehpour. Boeing are yet to confirm whether CEO Dave Calhoun will attend next week’s Senate subcommittee hearing. https://aviationsourcenews.com/manufacturer/us-congress-summons-boeing-ceo-to-testify-on-jet-safety/ Army orders pilots to ‘reinforce’ flying skills after 12 crashes in 6 months • Army officials flying skills like spatial awareness and power management will be emphasized in the training. After 12 crashes and 10 deaths in the past six months, the Army has ordered its aviation units to undergo mandatory safety training that will “reinforce” pilot skills like spatial awareness and power management, service officials told reporters on Wednesday. Crashes involving Army and Army National Guard aircraft have killed nine soldiers and one Border Patrol agent since last fall. The Army has not said what caused any of those crashes as investigations continue, but the Army’s top commander of aviation units said Wednesday that fundamental pilot skills will be an emphasis of the safety review. “We must reinforce how to revert back to knowing where you are and where your aircraft is with respect to the ground,” said Maj. Gen. Walter T. Rugen, director of Army aviation. “We are working very hard on effective power management across a host of flight altitudes, higher temperatures and wind conditions.” Class A aviation mishaps, which involve the loss of life or damage of at least $2.5 million, have risen sharply since October: Eleven helicopters and one C-12 fixed-wing aircraft have crashed in the past six months, said Brig. Gen. Jon Byrom, commanding general of the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center. The Army saw just nine Army Class-A mishaps in all of Fiscal 2023, Byrom said during a media roundtable. “Certainly, any loss of life is 100% unacceptable,”Rugen said. “And then, obviously, even when we have accidents that we lose the aircraft or severely damage the aircraft, we consider that unacceptable too.” Subscribe to Task & Purpose today. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily. While five of the crashes remain under investigation, Army officials have determined that loss of spatial awareness and power management are trends in the recent mishaps, Rugen said. Other training will focus on risk management and which tasks aircraft maintainers need to focus on to sustain their proficiency and readiness, he said. “Obviously, we are leaving no stone unturned,” Rugen said. Active-duty units have 30 days and reserve component units have 60 days to complete the four to six hours of training, which includes classified sessions on crash investigations that have finished, Rugen said. Experts from the Combat Readiness Center will also take part in the training to make sure that it permeates down to the lowest level of aviation units, Byrom said. “We understand how to train ourselves,” Rugen said. “We understand what the standards are, and we just want to make sure everybody is aware of those standards and then they’re performing to standard.” All aviation units will continue to fly operations while conducting this training, which is why the Army is referring to it as a “standup” rather than a “stand down,” Rugen said. Army leaders decided that having aviation units undergo specific, focused training would be a better response to the increase in crashes than temporarily grounding aircraft, he said. “We have ongoing operations that are critical that we complete,” Rugen said. “Commanders have asked for flexibility. And so, when you look at the National Guard, they’re just coming out of a stand down, we didn’t want to just keep standing down. We wanted, again, to have some action associated with it to reverse the trend.” https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-crashes-training-spatial-awareness/ China eyes home-grown aircraft engine, larger commercial planes with big equipment upgrades by 2027 • New emphasis on stronger ‘productive forces’ seen giving China a lift in its pursuit of aviation self-sufficiency as external pressure mounts • Analyst says Beijing is feeling the urgency to develop its own commercial jet engines China expects to make progress on an advanced aeroplane engine, a bigger commercial jet, and an amphibious search-and-rescue aircraft under a government plan to upgrade production equipment across industries through 2027 and improve the economy. A notice from seven central government departments calls for “promoting the aviation industry to comprehensively develop final assembly-integration capabilities and supply-chain-supporting capabilities for a large aircraft, a large amphibious aircraft, and an engine”. The March 27 notice calls for “updates and upgrades of high-end, advanced equipment” to reach those goals. China is working on its first home-grown turbofan commercial aircraft engine, the CJ1000, to reduce reliance on imports. The CJ1000’s developer, the Aero Engine Corporation of China, had expected to receive an airworthiness certification by 2025, but research reports have indicated that mechanical setbacks and a lack of experience in testing and assembly have held back development. “China definitely feels the urgency to develop its own aircraft engines,” said Liang Yan, chair of economics at US-based Willamette University, pointing to efforts by former US president Donald Trump to block exports of an American engine type to China. “With the new industrial policy and plan to boost new productive forces, I think various advanced manufacturing will accelerate and help aircraft,” Liang said. The C919 narrowbody airliner developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) still depends on foreign components, including for its engine produced by a joint venture between GE Aerospace of the US and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines. Chinese firm obtains country's first passenger-drone production certificate GE Aerospace recently announced a US$5.2 million investment in its engine-parts plant in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, to increase capacity and start production on the GE9X engine for the C919. The C919 is China’s first domestically produced narrowbody commercial airliner, in a league with the Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 aircraft families. Chinese airlines currently get most of their larger planes from Airbus and Boeing. Equipment upgrades targeted by Beijing cover factory tools, farming equipment, the photovoltaic energy sector, the production of electric vehicles, and aviation. Chinese leaders are trying to guide the world’s second-largest economy toward a stronger post-pandemic recovery and increased self-sufficiency in the face of US curbs on trade and technology. “A ‘made-in-China’ CJ1000 engine would improve prospects for Comac – not immediately, but in the near-term – reflecting the progress that’s been made, especially in terms of safety,” said Shukor Yusof, founder of Singapore-based aviation consultancy Endau Analytics. The government document said equipment upgrades are also linked to improving the AG600, the world’s largest amphibious plane. China began work on the AG600 in 2014 to meet growing demand for an emergency rescue aircraft that can fight forest fires and aid in maritime searches. The developer, China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (AVIC), conducted maiden flights over land in 2017 and at sea in 2020, followed by the start of airworthiness tests this year, according to Chinese state media outlets. Technological setbacks had pushed back the plane’s development in recent years. To give China a commercial airliner bigger than the C919, Comac has reached a 175-million-yuan (US$24.2 million) agreement with Hunan Aerospace Huanyu Communication Technology to build metals, composites and components for its widebody C929 passenger jet, according to a stock market filing. Comac expects to begin C929 deliveries in 2027, a company official said at an event in Shanghai last month. Overseas sceptics of the C919 have said the aircraft relies too heavily on foreign-made parts, but those parts may also help the aircraft pass safety tests outside China, where it has garnered few sales. “The fact that it’s using Western engines that are used in other aircraft makes it easier,” said Brendan Sobie, founder of the Singapore-based consultancy Sobie Aviation. Across industries, investment in industrial equipment upgrades will grow by more than 25 per cent by 2027 compared with 2023, the government statement said. The penetration rate of digital research, development, and design tools would increase by 90 per cent, it said. Chinese officials aim to reach their 2027 goals in part by establishing special loans for technological innovation and equipment renewal, the government statement said. It added that local governments should “strengthen protection of essential resources” such as land and energy to support upgrades. “Promoting large-scale equipment upgrades in industrial fields is conducive to expanding effective investment and promoting the continuous increase in the proportion of advanced production capacity,” the government document said. Scientific and technological advances across industries to date will help China’s economy grow by about 5.3 per cent this year, despite the nation’s rapidly ageing workforce, according to Hoe Ee Khor, chief economist with the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office. He pointed to previous gains in agricultural technology, factory automation and e-commerce technology. “That’s going to increase the productivity growth of the Chinese economy, and that happens at a time when the population is ageing,” Khor said at a news conference on Monday. https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3258534/china-eyes-home-grown-aircraft-engine-larger-commercial-planes-big-equipment-upgrades-2027 Airbus facing upfront costs to support jet output increase Summary • Airbus CFO says incurring hiring and other costs for output hike • Aims to realise full efficiencies from investments over time • CFO reaffirms output goal of 75 A320neo jets a month in 2026 • Industry sources say ramp-up costs went over-budget in Q1 April 10 (Reuters) - Airbus is incurring up-front costs as it prepares for higher jet production and plans a breathing space to absorb them once it reaches its output goal, its finance chief said on Wednesday. Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab is targeting a roughly 50% increase in production of its A320neo cash-cow to 75 planes a month by 2026. But to lay the groundwork it has had to invest in thousands of new workers and is building two new assembly lines. "We want to pre-hire to be ready to achieve rate-75 in 2026. But of course the costs are hitting us now while the full efficiency only comes in 2026, and potentially 2027 when we are at a stable rate," Chief Financial Officer Thomas Toepfer said in an interview. Airbus is also building two new assembly lines. Industry sources told Reuters such spending has been running over-budget in the civil business for part of the first quarter. Toepfer declined to comment on first-quarter activity but said "acceleration" or ramp-up costs would pay off over time. In 2023, Airbus hired 13,000 people including 10,000 new posts. "Why is that? Because we do not want to create our own bottlenecks in a supply environment which is anyway challenging," Toepfer told Reuters. Airbus reaffirmed the 75-a-month target. "We are on the trajectory to reach the rate," Toepfer said. For now, industry sources have said Airbus is lagging the unpublished milestones embedded in its output plans. Toepfer declined comment on current production but said strong deliveries in 2023 were a sign of the progress being made. Extending a lead over troubled Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab, Airbus is hiking output to meet demand but has said it will take its foot off the pedal once it gets to 75 a month, in a move seen as an olive branch to suppliers fretting about their own investments. Toepfer said this is when full efficiencies would kick in. "I think even when we achieve rate-75 we will not be at maximum efficiency, but will maintain the rate for a certain amount of time to drive out what I call these acceleration costs," he said. Ramp-up costs are expected to be an item to watch when Airbus reports quarterly results on April 25. Toepfer said supply chains were improving, but Airbus would keep pressure on suppliers to invest. "There is uncertainty so we should not overdo it, but we have to put some pressure so that everybody gets moving. It is a balancing act. We feel that has not fundamentally changed relative to last year," he said. Some suppliers have expressed doubts over Airbus' ramp-up plans and worry they may be left with expensive unused capacity if the industry hits another severe downturn. But Toepfer, who joined Airbus last September, said the company's large order backlog was the best guarantee that jetliner production would avoid the yo-yo effect some predict. One of the German executive's challenges will be to improve margins at the company's Defence and Space division as CEO Guillaume Faury oversees a reorganisation and strategic review. Toepfer expressed confidence that Airbus could improve its struggling Space business following recent charges. And after inheriting more than a decade of financial pain on its A400M military airlifter, he believed most of the turbulence was over. "We have also been transparent that the programme is still loss-making ... (but) we have taken out a lot of the uncertainties and risks," he said. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/airbus-facing-upfront-costs-support-jet-output-increase-2024-04-10/ TSA found more than 1,500 guns at airport checkpoints during 1st quarter of 2024, agency says The Transportation Security Administration said it intercepted more than 1,500 firearms at airport security checkpoints nationwide in the first quarter of 2024. The detections, which averaged 16.5 firearms per day in the first three months of the year, were marginally fewer than last year's first-quarter average of 16.8 firearms per day, according to new data released by the TSA on Thursday. The slight decrease, however, came amid a nearly 8% surge in flyers. The small drop is notable, as firearm discoveries have steadily increased in the past several years. Last year, the TSA found a record-setting 6,737 guns at airport checkpoints, surpassing the previous year's record of 6,542 guns and the highest annual total for the agency since it was created in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. The rate of interceptions per million passengers also slightly decreased in this year's first quarter when compared to last year's, from 7.9 to 7.3. More than 206 million passengers were screened this quarter, compared to more than 191 million passengers in the first three months of 2023. More than 93% of the firearms found in the first quarters of 2024 and 2023 were loaded. "While it is certainly promising that the rate of passengers bringing firearms to the checkpoint has decreased, one firearm at the checkpoint is too many," TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in the news release. "Every time we discover a firearm at the checkpoint, the security screening process is slowed down for all." Pekoske noted that traveling with a licensed firearm is legal as long as the weapon is properly packed according to TSA guidelines and placed in checked baggage. TSA requires firearms to be unloaded, locked in a hard-sided case and declared to the airline when checking the bag. All firearms are prohibited at security checkpoints and in the passenger cabin of aircraft, even if a passenger has a concealed carry permit or is in a constitutional carry jurisdiction, the agency said. Since TSA doesn't confiscate firearms, when one is detected at a checkpoint, the officer has to call local law enforcement to take possession of the weapon. It is up to the law enforcement officer to arrest or cite the passenger, depending on local law, though the TSA can impose a civil penalty of up to almost $15,000, according to the agency. Last year, more than 1,100 guns were found at just three of the nation's airports. Officers at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the nation's busiest airport, found 451 firearms in carry-ons, more than any other airport in the country, according to TSA data. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport rounded out the top three. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tsa-firearm-interceptions-airport-security-checkpoints-first-quarter-2024/ An Alaska Airlines passenger has watched his lost AirTag fly between 37 cities for months after it fell out of his bag • Éric Béteille said his AirTag has been stuck in the cargo space of an Alaska Airlines plane. • For the last nine months, he's tracked the Embraer E175 across 37 different cities. • It shows an interesting insight into how the airline uses its short-haul planes. AirTags have proved to be helpful devices for recovering lost baggage, but what happens if the tracker falls out? In a Facebook post, Éric Béteille said his AirTag fell out of his luggage tag on an Alaska Airlines flight last July — and is now stuck in the plane's cargo space. "I've been tracking it around the western US and Canada ever since," he said. He used data from Flightradar24 to make a map of the 37 cities that his AirTag has flown to over the past nine months. It goes as far south-east as Austin, and as far north-west as Vancouver. Other locations included Missoula, Montana; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and Tucson, Arizona. He said the plane, an Embraer E175LR, has averaged at least five flights a day. It's a smaller type of jet, which seats 76 passengers and has a maximum range of 2,500 miles. Béteille's AirTag won't be going transatlantic, especially given that Alaska Airlines only flies to North America, but it's still an interesting insight into the carrier's operations — and the frequency of one jet's flights. In a similar incident last year, travel news site View From The Wing reported an American Airlines passenger watched his AirTag fly to 35 different cities — after he put it in his wallet and accidentally left it in the cabin. https://www.businessinsider.com/alaska-airlines-passenger-tracked-lost-airtag-across-37-cities-2024-4 Why Has Lufthansa Canceled Flights to Iran But Austrian Airlines Keeps Flying? The cancellations come as U.S. intelligence reports suggest an attack on Israeli assets by Iran or its proxies could be imminent. Lufthansa has canceled flights to and from Iran as tensions escalate in the region. However, Skift has discovered that the cancellations aren’t universal, even within the same airline group. A Lufthansa spokesperson confirmed that all of the airline’s services up to and including this Saturday have been canceled, citing “the situation in the region.” The German flag carrier usually operates five flights a week from its Frankfurt hub to Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. In contrast, Austrian Airlines has continued its regular program with a flight operating as normal from Vienna on Tuesday. A further departure is due later on Thursday. An Austrian Airlines spokesperson told Skift that it had no plans to cancel its Tehran flights: “Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines have come to the same safety assessment of the situation on the ground. The Austrian Airlines flight planned for today will take place.” While Austrian retains its own management team, it operates as a subsidiary of the wider Lufthansa Group. It is unusual for two airlines within the same organization to reach different conclusions to serve a destination. Why Isn’t Austrian Cancelling Its Flights? The explanation lies in the logistics of the route. The company told Skift that as a precautionary measure, the usual overnight layover in Tehran will be suspended until April 13. “Due to the shorter flight time that Austrian has compared to other airlines, it is possible to fly Vienna-Tehran-Vienna without a night stop within the legally permitted working hours of the crew.” The airline added that Flight OS871 scheduled for today will take place, but will depart from the Austrian capital several hours late to “minimize the time between landing and departure in Tehran”. “The safety of our passengers and crews is our top priority. The security situation on the ground is monitored around the clock and the flight program is adapted if necessary,” the company said. Analysis of data from Cirium Diio shows the Austrian flag carrier usually flies six times a week to the Iranian capital. Fears Mount of Iranian Reprisals President Biden warned on Wednesday that Iran is threatening to launch a “significant attack.” It follows an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria last week. U.S. intelligence reports suggest an attack on Israeli assets by Iran or its proxies could be imminent, according to the Wall Street Journal. Lufthansa and Austrian are relative outliers in serving the Iranian capital from Europe. British Airways and KLM are among the big names that exited the market in 2018 citing poor commercial conditions. This has left Iran Air – the country’s national airline – to operate the bulk of nonstop routes to and from Europe. It currently serves major cities including London, Paris, and Rome. Indirect options with carriers such as Emirates, Turkish Airlines, and Qatar Airways are also an option. Airline Security in Focus Airlines operating in the region are well-versed in making continuous security assessments. Most international airlines halted all flights to Tel Aviv after the start of the Israel-Gaza war in early October 2023. While many European airlines including easyJet and British Airways have resumed services, the situation for U.S. operators is patchier. United Airlines is currently the only U.S. airline to have returned to Israel. The company restarted flights from Newark to Tel Aviv in early March with a daily service. It said the decision followed “a detailed safety analysis.” Delta will resume its nonstop daily service between New York JFK and Tel Aviv from June 7. American Airlines confirmed to Skift that operations to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended until at least October 26. Skift has contacted other major airlines operating to Tehran, including Qatar Airways and Flydubai, for comment. https://skift.com/2024/04/11/lufthansa-canceled-flights-to-iran-austrian-keeps-flying/ PhD GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY My name is Michail Karyotakis. I am a Research student at Cranfield University in the UK. Currently, I am working on my Research project, which is focused on Developing a Dynamic Safety Management Framework for Advanced Air Mobility Operations. The following Questionnaires serve the main purpose of data collection since data on the Research field is limited. The surveys are not affiliated with any airline, training organisation, or any other. Participation in the surveys is voluntary and anonymous (if desired by the participant). Each survey will take about 10 minutes to be completed. Thank you in advance for your time and patience. Your participation is highly appreciated. Please click the link below to enter the survey: https://cranfielduniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1M8LnQdhnjnu0Jg (1) https://cranfielduniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dmoQJRGyrp9PUEK (2) Student email: michail.k.karyotakis@cranfield.ac.uk CALENDAR OF EVENTS • Blazetech - Aircraft Fire Hazards, Protection, and Investigation Course June 4 - 7, 2024 • (APTSC) Asia and Pacific Turboprop Safety Conference - June 26 - 27, 2024 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia • 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