Flight Safety Information - April 23, 2024 No. 081 In This Issue : Incident: THY B773 at Tokyo on Apr 20th 2024, approached wrong runway : Incident: PSA CRJ9 at Charlotte on Apr 22nd 2024, odour in cabin : Incident: Wideroe DH8D near Bergen on Apr 21st 2024, smoke in cabin, engine shut down in flight : US FAA to mandate use of safety tool by charter airlines, manufacturers : Swiss Crew Aborts Takeoff For Four Other Planes Crossing JFK Runway : LATAM 800: Chile's DGAC Finds Pilot Seat Movement On Boeing 787 Dreamliner Caused Sudden Drop : Pilots Suspended For Letting MLB Coach Sit In Cockpit During Flight : How to fix Boeing, according to a former Airbus technology chief : British Airways Passengers On Already Delayed Flight End Up Circling Around Singapore For Four Hours After A380 Weather Radar Breaks Down : Dallas Love Field Airport to Receive New Air Traffic Control Technology : Non-Synchronous Vibration: EASA Calls For New Checks On LEAP 1-A Engine Used On A320neo Family : Former JetBlue CEO Hayes to lead Airbus in North America : NATA’s June Air Charter Summit: Educating Operators, Elevating Standards : PhD GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEYS Survey # 1 Survey # 2 : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: THY B773 at Tokyo on Apr 20th 2024, approached wrong runway A THY Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration TC-JJT performing flight TK-198 from Istanbul (Turkey) to Tokyo Haneda (Japan), was cleared to land on Haneda's runway 22 (runway B) however approached runway 23 (runway D). Air Traffic Control instructed the aircraft to go around, which the crew complied with. The aircraft subsequently positioned for an approach to runway 23 (runway D) and landed on runway 23 without further incident about 25 minutes after the go around. Japan's Ministry of Transport reported they are investigating the occurrence when TK-198 approached runway D instead of runway B and was instructed by ATC to go around. https://avherald.com/h?article=517b9f83&opt=0 Incident: PSA CRJ9 at Charlotte on Apr 22nd 2024, odour in cabin A PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N633NN performing flight AA-5304 from Charlotte,NC to Chattanooga,TN (USA), was climbing out of Charlotte's runway 36C when the crew stopped the climb at 5000 feet reporting an odour in the cabin, however, it was not an emergency situation. The aircraft returned to Charlotte for a safe landing on runway 36R about 25 minutes after departure. The airline reported a possible smell in the cabin, the aircraft is being examined. The passenger will be taken to Chattanooga on a replacement aircraft. A replacement CRJ-900 registration N609NN is estimated to reach Chattanooga with a delay of about 3 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=517b9d30&opt=0 Incident: Wideroe DH8D near Bergen on Apr 21st 2024, smoke in cabin, engine shut down in flight A Wideroe de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration LN-WDT performing flight WF-591 from Bergen to Kristiansand (Norway), was climbing out of Bergen's runway 17 when the crew stopped the climb at FL220 and decided to return to Bergen due to smoke in the cabin. During the return the crew shut the left hand engine (PW150A) down. The aircraft landed safely back on Bergen's runway 35 about 30 minutes after departure. Emergency services did not detect any evidence of fire. https://avherald.com/h?article=517b9895&opt=0 US FAA to mandate use of safety tool by charter airlines, manufacturers WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday said it is finalizing new rules requiring charter, commuter, air tour operators, and aircraft manufacturers to implement a key safety tool aimed at reducing accidents. The FAA is adopting a final rule mandating the use of Safety Management Systems (SMS), which are a set of policies and procedures to proactively identify and address potential operational hazards, after first proposing to do so in January 2023. U.S. airlines have been required to have SMS since 2018 and some aerospace companies already voluntarily have SMS programs like Boeing. "Requiring more aviation organizations to implement a proactive approach to managing safety will prevent accidents and save lives,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. Congress in 2020 directed the FAA to mandate SMS for aircraft manufacturers as part of a wide-ranging certification reform bill following two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes, but the FAA's final rule goes beyond the requirements from lawmakers. The issue of safety management has gotten new attention after a mid-air cabin panel blowout on a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane. The FAA barred Boeing from expanding 737 MAX production and ordered the planemaker to develop a comprehensive plan to address "systemic quality-control issues" within 90 days. SMS systems require four key components - safety policy, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion. The FAA in 2023 required major airports to adopt SMS programs after more than 10 years of study. The National Transportation Safety Board has urged the FAA to require and verify the SMS systems in all revenue passenger-carrying aviation operations. The NTSB said previously "too many operators either do not have one in place or have an ineffective one... It’s time more got on board. The risk to the flying public is too great not to." The NTSB has cited SMS systems in a number of incidents including the 2020 helicopter crash that killed NBA star Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others. The board cited the operator's "incomplete implementation of its safety management system" and the benefits of a mandatory SMS in its report. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-faa-mandate-safety-tool-160105069.html Swiss Crew Aborts Takeoff For Four Other Planes Crossing JFK Runway On April 17, the day before a runway incursion at Reagan National Airport in Washington made headlines a Swiss Air crew aborted their takeoff at JFK because there were four aircraft crossing the runway from which they’d been cleared to take off. “Swiss 17K Heavy, rejecting takeoff. Traffic on the runway,” the Swiss Air pilot reported to JFK Tower on ATC recordings compiled by VASAviation in the animation above. Another controller on a different frequency cleared the other four aircraft to cross Runway 4L at roughly the same time as the Swiss heavy was starting its roll. The Swiss pilot most likely spotted a Delta Boeing 767 that had just arrived from Nice, France crossing the runway on Taxiway H, which is about midway on the 12,079-foot runway. The Swiss plane got about a quarter of the way down the runway on its aborted takeoff. Meanwhile, three other aircraft crews were told to cross the runway beyond that first Delta flight. After aborting the takeoff, the Swiss flight exited the runway at Taxiway K3 and was allowed to turn around there and depart from that taxiway intersection to avoid having to taxi all the way back to the end of the runway, which would have required it to refuel. It took off six minutes after the abort. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/swiss-crew-aborts-takeoff-for-four-other-planes-crossing-jfk-runway/?MailingID=FLY240423003&utm_campaign=avwebflash&utm_medium=newsletter&oly_enc_id=1249F2849412G8V LATAM 800: Chile's DGAC Finds Pilot Seat Movement On Boeing 787 Dreamliner Caused Sudden Drop The terrifying incident took place in March. SUMMARY • The preliminary report on LATAM flight 800 confirms the pilot's seat moved forward during the sudden drop incident on the Boeing 787 aircraft. • Passengers experienced weightlessness during the dive, with many sustaining severe injuries on the 5th freedom flight between Sydney and Auckland. • Boeing previously advised on an issue with the switch cap of the pilots' seat in the 787 cockpit, potentially leading to unintended seat movement. • The pilot’s seat of a LATAM Boeing 787 aircraft involved in last month's sudden drop incident is in focus. A preliminary report released by the authorities confirmed that the seat moved forward, potentially causing the aircraft to plunge and causing multiple injuries onboard. Preliminary report is out Last month, a LATAM Boeing 787 aircraft traveling on a 5th freedom flight between Sydney and Auckland was involved in a terrifying sudden drop at cruising altitude, injuring over 50 passengers. Many sustained severe injuries, with at least one person in critical condition. It has been reported that passengers felt weightlessness during the dive, and anyone and anything not fastened hit the ceiling. According to the pilot, the instrumentation of the aircraft was lost briefly, but it ultimately came back. A Hato Hone St John ambulance services representative told Simple Flying last month that it had responded to an incident with an inbound aircraft AKL. It deployed 14 units, including seven ambulances, two operation managers, two Major Incident Support Team vehicles, one Command Unit, and two rapid response vehicles. The preliminary report by Chili’s aviation authority DGAC confirms that the weather conditions did not cause the sudden drop. It confirmed that the plane was traveling at 41,000 feet at the time of the incident and, more crucially, the left seat in the cockpit with the captain sitting on it moved forward involuntarily. The Wall Street Journal even cites sources that say that a flight attendant hit a switch on the pilot’s seat during meal service in the cockpit. This led to the seat moving forward and pushing the pilot into the controls, eventually putting the plane in the nose-down position. We will have to wait for the final report to officially know the cause of the accident. Boeing’s previous advisory In 2017, Boeing sent a message to operators of all 787 variants, highlighting an issue with the switch cap of the pilots’ seat in the cockpit and asking airlines to apply adhesive to it. Last month, the plane maker released another message, referencing its previous advisory. It stated, “Boeing and Flight Deck seat supplier, Ipeco, advise the 787 fleet of a known condition related to a loose/detached rocker switch cap on the fore/aft auxiliary rocker switch. This rocker switch is located on the seat back of both Captain and First Officer seats. Closing the spring-loaded seat back switch guard onto a loose/detached rocker switch cap can potentially jam the rocker switch, resulting in unintended seat movement.” About the aircraft The aircraft involved in the incident is a Boeing 787-9, registered CC-BGG, and was delivered to LATAM on December 16, 2015. Per ch-aviation, it has accumulated more than 23,500 flight hours across more than 3,500 flight cycles as of December 31, 2023. The carrier operates 36 Dreamliners split between 26 787–9 variants and 10 787–8 variants. LATAM has ordered five more Dreamliners, which will be powered by General Electric engines, as opposed to its current 787 fleet, which is fitted with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. https://simpleflying.com/latam-800-plunge-dgac-pilot-seat/ Pilots Suspended For Letting MLB Coach Sit In Cockpit During Flight Two United Airlines pilots were suspended for allowing an unauthorized person in the cockpit during a charted flight. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating the incident, which occurred on April 10 when the Colorado Rockies were traveling to Canada for a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Rockies hitting coach Hensley Meulens posted a since-deleted video on Instagram showing him sitting in the pilot's seat while the plane is on auto-pilot at cruising altitude. "Had some fun in the cockpit on our flight from Denver to Toronto," Meulens wrote on the since-deleted post. "Thanks to the captain and the first officer of our United charter that allowed me this great experience." While Meulens enjoyed the experience, he was violating FAA regulations. "Federal regulations restrict flight deck access to specific individuals," the agency said in a statement announcing the investigation. United Airlines is also investigating the incident. "We're deeply disturbed by what we see in that video, which appears to show an unauthorized person in the flight deck at cruise altitude while the autopilot was engaged. As a clear violation of our safety and operational policies, we've reported the incident to the FAA and have withheld the pilots from service while we conduct an investigation," the airline said. Rockies manager Bud Black told the Denver Post that Meulens apologized to both the team and United Airlines. "I can't comment really any further because of the investigation of the matter," Black said, adding that the incident will not affect Meulens' job. https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-04-21-pilots-suspended-for-letting-mlb-coach-sit-in-cockpit-during-flight/ How to fix Boeing, according to a former Airbus technology chief BY PAUL EREMENKO By the end of the year, Boeing will have a new CEO. They will need to lead an aggressive cultural transformation on a massive scale–the company has over 170,000 employees of whom about 50,000 are engineers–and in record time. The modern air transportation system is nothing short of miraculous. Airplanes are some of the most complex feats of engineering created by humans, and yet thousands of them fly daily with so few incidents that flying is one of the safest modes of travel, second only to taking an elevator (and safer than walking, not to mention driving). It is not a miracle but a meticulously accumulated set of engineering principles, quality processes, and operating procedures–all underpinned by a set of cultural mores to ensure that they are faithfully and intelligently implemented. This cultural element is the magic ingredient. And it is what’s broken at Boeing. Take, for example, the tragic crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft a few months apart in 2018 and 2019. A key aviation engineering principle is that safety-critical systems cannot have a single point of failure. Boeing engineers convinced themselves (and the FAA) on paper that the MCAS system, which was found to be the culprit, was not safety-critical. Of course, it turned out to be. This is an engineering error–but more importantly and systemically, it is a failure of culture: The right people should have felt empowered to question the right assumptions at the right time. The recent in-flight loss of a door plug on another Boeing 737 MAX Alaska Airlines flight looks to be a quality process error (although the investigation is ongoing). Most probably. the process itself wasn’t wrong–it just wasn’t followed. Again, culture is almost certainly the culprit. In February, a Congressionally-mandated panel of experts convened in the wake of the earlier MAX crashes released its report on Boeing safety systems. It wrote that “[t]he Expert Panel observed a disconnect between Boeing’s senior management and other members of the organization on safety culture.” What happened to Boeing’s culture and how to fix it For the last two decades, Boeing has undergone a deliberate transformation from an engineering-driven company to one more focused on business results. Harry Stonecipher, Boeing’s CEO in the early 2000s, famously quipped: “When people say I changed the culture of Boeing, that was the intent, so that it is run like a business rather than a great engineering firm.” Stonecipher’s successor, James McNerney, took this even further: “Every 25 years a big moonshot… and then produce a 707 or a 787–that’s the wrong way to pursue this business. The more-for-less world will not let you pursue moonshots.” Delivering shareholder value is not inherently antithetical to a strong product and safety culture. But shareholder returns cannot be perceived as coming at the expense of the employees, the product, or the company’s long-term mission. I have three concrete suggestions for Boeing’s board and new CEO. These come from my own experience in the Airbus C-suite. Neither Airbus’s culture nor its products are flawless. But the European company has consistently gotten three things right: the profile of the people at the top, a focus on its employees, and the willingness to make bold bets. The new Boeing CEO needs to be an airplane geek, not a bean counter Boeing should fill the C-suite and executive ranks with like-minded people who love the product and Boeing’s mission to build great airplanes. C-suite discussions should revolve not just around free cash flow and EBITDA, but around new products, features, customer feedback, and–importantly–the nitty gritty of safety issues. And it can’t be forced or faked. Because Boeing’s products are so unique, the leadership team must have a genuine passion for them. If product and safety are routinely the top priorities at the board and C-suite level, the whole company will feel it. This is something that Airbus has done well. Its last CEO insisted on parachuting out of Airbus’ new A400M transport plane and piloting a stratospheric glider. The current one is a former helicopter flight test engineer. The CEO’s office and corporate board room has a panoramic view of the runway where Airbus planes are tested. There is a distinct “AvGeek” aura at headquarters. I’ve witnessed first-hand aerospace CEOs who are bean counters and others who are airplane geeks. The difference is stark, it cascades quickly through an organization, and it matters. Make all employees shareholders While Boeing need not apologize for emphasizing shareholder returns, it should signal to employees that it is not at their expense but in their best interest. Today, equity compensation at most large industrial companies is limited to executive ranks. The private equity firm KKR deployed a strategy at a handful of companies in its industrial portfolio of giving all employees–including shop floor hourly workers–a meaningful ownership stake in the business. The results were staggering. An HBS case study on one such company reported an immediate 8% jump in EBITDA margin while halving the safety incident rate and improving product quality. Making employees think like owners made them take greater personal responsibility for improving company operations and delivering a good product. It will also improve union relations, which has historically been a sore point for Boeing. Airbus, of course, has no choice in the matter. It’s an employee-first culture by virtue of French and German labor laws. Every major decision has to be painstakingly negotiated with employee representatives. I recall a conversation with a very senior Airbus executive where he challenged my “very American” assertion that the purpose of the company was to deliver shareholder value. After I pontificated about the famous Dodge v. Ford court case which enshrined this as a principle of U.S. corporate law, he scoffed. “What is its purpose then?” I asked. “To create good European jobs,” he replied. Commit Boeing to a bold new goal The development of the last new Boeing airplane–the 787–was launched two decades ago (and the aircraft is now also coming under scrutiny after a whistleblower reportedly called for its grounding). The 737 was designed over a half-century ago (the original 737-100 first flew in 1967) and has morphed into today’s MAX through more than a dozen derivative designs making incremental improvements. This has been a deliberate strategy to monetize the existing franchise and avoid the expense of a new design. Such a strategy is not sustainable and, as Boeing is learning the hard way, is ultimately detrimental to shareholder value. The MCAS system at issue in the MAX crashes, for instance, was a direct consequence of the 737 lacking a modern digital flight control system. It is also demotivating to the employees who went into aerospace to build some of the world’s coolest products, help tackle big audacious problems, and be on the bleeding edge of human innovation to be working with ancient tools on the same airplane their parents might have helped design. What might such a bold new goal look like? Aviation’s dirty secret is that the industry’s CO2 emissions are set to increase significantly in the coming decades, as traffic growth far outpaces incremental improvements in airplane efficiency. Boeing has hidden behind carbon offsets and so-called “sustainable” aviation fuels–where a fraction of the CO2 emitted when burning the hydrocarbon is recaptured during the fuel production process–to greenwash its product portfolio. This approach has allowed the company to avoid the expense of building a new airplane. But in doing so, Boeing ceded the lead in developing clean flight technologies such as hydrogen, flex-fuel, hybrid-electric, and open rotor to Airbus, which has been only too happy to pick up the mantle as the industry’s innovator. Challenge Boeing to deliver a true-zero-emissions airplane in the time it took the U.S. to land a man on the moon (incidentally, this was a moonshot in which Boeing played a significant part). The employees will love it. And they will almost certainly deliver. My dream job growing up was to be chief engineer at Boeing. I fantasized what my new airplane would look like, devoured books about legendary airplane designers, and ordered every piece of Boeing swag in its online gift shop. And while my career took me to the planemaker on the other side of the Atlantic, I feel a deep fondness for the American icon that is the Boeing Company–and sadness at its current malaise. I am confident that it can regain its magic by putting airplane geeks at the helm, giving its employees a direct stake in the company’s success, and making a bold, ambitious bet on the future. Paul Eremenko is a former Chief Technology Officer at Airbus and at United Technologies. https://fortune.com/2024/04/22/how-to-fix-boeing-airbus-technology-chief-leadership-culture/ British Airways Passengers On Already Delayed Flight End Up Circling Around Singapore For Four Hours After A380 Weather Radar Breaks Down Up to 469 passengers on an already delayed British Airways service from Singapore to London Heathrow on Monday night ended up on a flight to nowhere after the weather radar on the Airbus A380 superjumbo broke down shortly after takeoff. British Airways flight BA12 was scheduled to depart Singapore at 11:20 pm on Monday, but due to a separate technical issue, the bleary-eyed passengers had to sit on the double-deck jet for four hours before the plane eventually departed at 3:10 am. The 10-year-old aircraft then headed north towards Malaysia on what should have been a 13-hour flight to London, but after climbing to 27,000 feet, the pilots were forced to turn back around and head back to Singapore due to an issue with the weather radar. Unfortunately for all the passengers onboard, it wasn’t simply a case of returning back to Singapore to get the radar fixed, as the massive quad-jet was full of fuel for the 6,700-mile flight to London. As a result, the plane was forced to enter a holding pattern to burn off fuel in order to get the aircraft down to a safe weight to land as normal at Singapore Changi Airport. Data from Flight Radar 24 shows the aircraft descending to 10,000 feet and then circling over and over again as fuel was burnt off. In the end, the aircraft circled off the coast of Singapore for four hours before eventually landing right back where it started. The flight then had to be cancelled, and passengers were eventually transferred to hotels so that they could try again the following day. British Airways has had a pretty torrid time with its fleet of Airbus A380s ever since they returned from an extended time in storage through the pandemic. Monday night’s A380 (registration: G-XLED) was put into long-term storage in March 2020 and didn’t return to active service for nearly two years in January 2022. The carrier still views its A380s as an integral part of its fleet makeup, but they are posing a lot of problems and are frequently responsible for lengthy delays and cancellations. In this case, it’s not just the passengers on flight 12 who have been affected, as the aircraft was scheduled to operate flight BA269 to Los Angeles on Tuesday. That flight has also now been cancelled as there aren’t any spare aircraft. In a statement, a spokesperson for British Airways told us: “We are sorry for the delay to customers’ travel plans after the aircraft returned to Singapore Changi Airport as a precaution following a minor technical fault.” “Our teams are working hard to get our customers where they need to be.” https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2024/04/23/british-airways-passengers-on-already-delayed-flight-end-up-circling-around-singapore-for-four-hours-after-a380-weather-radar-breaks-down/ Dallas Love Field Airport to Receive New Air Traffic Control Technology Dallas Love Field Airport is on the path of a transformative aviation safety revolution. Love Field, one of the first airports in the country to use modern air traffic control technology, is ready to set a new standard for aviation safety. Table of Contents • Dallas Love Field’s Aviation Safety Initiative • New Technology for Enhanced Aircraft Safety This announcement follows a recent near-miss incident at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. This initiative introduced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), will primarily focus on enhancing safety measures for aircraft during takeoff and landing procedures. Dallas Love Field’s Aviation Safety Initiative With the recent incident at Reagan National Airport, where two aircraft came dangerously close, the necessity for improved safety protocols has been underscored. Human error was identified as a contributing factor, with conflicting instructions issued by air traffic controllers. The upcoming implementation of this innovative technology sets out to find solutions to these major safety problems. The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the airline industry, resulting in a significant loss of experienced personnel due to retirements. If you are a budget-conscious tourist, booking an Indian Eagle cheap flights provides an ideal travel experience. Plan your trip smartly to enjoy a comfortable trip. New Technology for Enhanced Aircraft Safety Along with Love Field, airports in Austin, Nashville, and Indianapolis are also planning to test the new technology. To improve runway safety, the technology can give controllers real-time and accurate tracking of flights and vehicles under any weather conditions. The introduction of this technology is similar to having an additional layer of oversight, with automated alerts to prevent potential conflicts. While the new technology aims to enhance safety measures, managing labor shortages and gaining industry expertise will be critical to ensuring long-term safety. The implementation of this new technology is scheduled for completion at Love Field by July of this year, with other airports expected to follow suit by the summer of 2025. With the upcoming implementation of modern air traffic control technology, Dallas Love Field Airport continues to pave the way to safer flights. This major commitment, supported by the FAA, shows the airport’s determined commitment to passenger safety. As Love Field prepares to implement these important steps, tourists are likely to get greater comfort during the trips. https://www.indianeagle.com/traveldiary/dallas-love-field-airport-to-get-air-traffic-control-technology/ Non-Synchronous Vibration: EASA Calls For New Checks On LEAP 1-A Engine Used On A320neo Family While EASA has issued its final airworthiness directive, the FAA is yet to do so, despite publishing an NPRM in October 2023. SUMMARY • EASA is targeting non-synchronous vibrations (NSV) on LEAP-1A engines, one of the two options for the A320neo family. • Operators must evaluate NSV within 125 flight cycles and replace parts as necessary. • FAA also proposed a directive for the same issue, requiring inspections and calculations of NSV. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is targeting non-synchronous vibrations (NSV) on CFM International LEAP 1-A engines used on the Airbus A319neo, A320neo, and A321neo aircraft. The regulator noted cases of non-synchronous engine vibrations on these engines, which prompted the airworthiness directive (AD). Accelerated engine part wear According to EASA, it has been determined that certain parts of the engines, namely number 3 bearing spring finger housing, with a specific part number installed on specific engines that were defined by the CFM International Service Bulletin (SB) LEAP-1A-72-00-0504-01A-930A-D Issue 002. The engine manufacturer issued its corrected SB in October 2023, with EASA following up with its proposed AD on October 25, 2023. Nevertheless, the regulator warned that the affected parts on the LEAP-1A engines could be subject to accelerated wear and could lead to elevated NSV. If not corrected, the condition could induce engine stalls or result in secondary air system seal rubs, cooling airflow reduction, or elevated temperatures in turbine internal cavities, all of which could lead to high-pressure turbine (HPT) disc failures. An HPT disc failure could release high-energy debris and damage and/or reduce control of the aircraft. As such, EASA mandated the monitoring and evaluation of NSV and, depending on operators’ findings, the removal of the engine from commercial operations and replacement of the affected number 3 bearing spring finger housing before it is released back into passenger service. The FAA's proposed directive follows EASA's proposed directive for the same issue. Within 125 flight cycles However, the European regulator said that operators must evaluate the NSV of their LEAP-1A engines within 125 flight cycles (FC) after the effective date of this AD, which is May 6, 2024. To note, a single flight cycle for an engine is counted when the aircraft takes off and arrives at an airport. EASA has also mandated the inspection of the stage 2 HPT nozzle assembly honeycomb and HPT stator stationary seal honeycomb. Depending on the findings, airlines could also need to replace either one or both of the honeycombs. Frontier Airlines Airbus A320neo with the CFM International LEAP-1A engines Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock After the initial inspection of the engines’ operations, airlines will have to evaluate NSV at intervals that do not exceed 125 FCs. Furthermore, unless operators have already replaced the affected part, at the next piece-part exposure or before the affected part exceeds 9,900 FCs since new, whichever occurs first after the effective date of the directive, carriers will have to replace any affected part, identifiable in the CFM International SB with a specific serial number. Since the CFM International LEAP-1A engine is jointly certified by EASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the latter had also proposed an AD in the form of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in October 2023. Then, the US regulator detailed that the proposed rule change was prompted by multiple aborted takeoffs and air turn-backs that were caused by high-pressure compressor (HPC) stalls induced by high levels of NSV. “Additional manufacturer investigation revealed that wear on the No. 3 bearing spring finger housing can lead to high levels of NSV.” As a result, the FAA proposed to mandate initial and repetitive calculations of the levels of NSV, with the number of FCs being identical to EASA’s requirements. The US-based government agency also proposed that operators inspect stage 2 HPT nozzle assembly honeycomb and HPT stator stationary seal honeycomb, mirroring the inspections mandated by the European regulator. However, the FAA has not issued its final AD at the time of writing. Its NPRM, published on October 11, had closed for comments on November 27, with five comments on the NPRM by CFM International, Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), American Airlines, and avianca. CFM International’s comment, available publicly, specifically asked the FAA to reword the proposed instructions, namely to include the part number of the specific bearing and an engine’s serial number. In addition, the company said that its experience with NSV showed that the condition has led to self-recovering HPC stalls. Furthermore, the engine manufacturer said that “there are additional hardware modifications that are being developed by the design approval holder,” but they are not necessary to address the unsafe condition outlined by either of the regulators. The FAA worded its NPRM that the unsafe condition could result in, “[…] engine power loss at a critical phase of flight such as takeoff or climb, loss of engine thrust control, reduced controllability of the airplane, and loss of the airplane.” What Are Jet Engine Compressor Stalls & How Can They Be Prevented? A compressor stall is usually associated with a loud bang, and it can lead to flames coming out of the engine exhaust. Limited impact At the time, the FAA detailed that CFM International reported at least three instances of aborted takeoffs and two air turn-backs, all of which were caused by HPC stalls. Nevertheless, the impact on US operators should be minimal. In October 2023, the FAA estimated that its NPRM would affect 48 engines installed on aircraft in the US, with 33 engines in the US having parts that would have to be replaced as of the effective date of the regulator’s AD. According to ch-aviation data, there are 162 active, in-maintenance, or stored Airbus A320neo family aircraft that are equipped with the 13 LEAP-1A subtypes in the US. 80 of those belong to American Airlines, while the remaining are assigned to Frontier Airlines. Frontier Airlines shutterstock_1445228615 Photo: nyker | Shutterstock Globally, Airbus has delivered 1,756 Airbus A320neo family aircraft with the 13 LEAP-1A engine subtypes to operators. However, not every engine will be affected by either of the regulators’ directives since CFM International’s SB points out specific serial numbers and part numbers of the number 3 bearing spring finger housing. https://simpleflying.com/easa-directive-leap-1-a-engine-non-synchronous-vibration/ Former JetBlue CEO Hayes to lead Airbus in North America WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - Former JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes has been named as the new head of Airbus' operations in North America, the European planemaker said Monday. Airbus said C. Jeffrey Knittel is retiring as chairman and CEO of Airbus Americas effective June 3. Hayes will take over after he stepped down in February after nine years as CEO of JetBlue. Hayes will lead Airbus' commercial aircraft business in North America, which is based in Herndon, Virginia, and will have responsibility for coordination among the company’s helicopters, space and defense businesses in the Americas, Airbus said. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said Hayes will help the company "further deliver on our strategic objectives for the region across all the Airbus businesses and further grow our North American footprint." Airbus said earlier this month that jet deliveries rose 12% in the first quarter, leaving the France-based company ahead of U.S. rival Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab, which delivered 83 commercial airplanes during the same period. Boeing is facing scrutiny after an in-flight emergency in January sparked renewed safety concerns and prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to bar the planemaker from expanding 737 MAX production. Airbus in January reported record annual jet orders for 2023, maintaining the top manufacturing spot against Boeing for a fifth year. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/former-jetblue-ceo-hayes-lead-airbus-north-america-2024-04-22/ 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