Flight Safety Information - October 09, 2025 No. 202 In This Issue : Incident: Cityjet CRJ9 near Zurich on Oct 6th 2025, smoke in cabin : Incident: Jin B772 at Okinawa on Oct 7th 2025, engine failure : ACSF - Industry Audit Standard Lite : Incident: REX SF34 at Adelaide on Oct 8th 2025, rejected takeoff due to engine failure : Panic ensues mid-flight after death of air force marshal prompts emergency landing : Putin says Russian air defenses responsible for Azerbaijani jet crash that killed 38 : Airbus Delivers 73 Aircraft In September, Needs 313 More To Meet Its 2025 Target : GE Aerospace's flight data app rapidly expands user base : Turkish Airlines chair says may switch Boeing 737 order to Airbus if engine talks fail : Major Boeing customer Ryanair sees 737 production hitting 48 per month by April : Calendar of Event Incident: Cityjet CRJ9 near Zurich on Oct 6th 2025, smoke in cabin A Cityjet Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of SAS Scandinavian Airlines, registration EI-HSE performing flight SK-1684 from Milan Malpensa (Italy) to Copenhagen (Denmark) with 91 people on board, was enroute at FL340 about 20nm east of Zurich (Switzerland) when the crew declared Mayday, Mayday, Mayday reporting smoke in the cabin and requested an emergency descent. ATC cleared them to FL250 maintaining present heading at first. The aircraft subsequently positioned for an approach to Zurich's runway 16 and landed safely on that runway about 20 minutes after leaving FL340. The crew vacated the runway and stopped on the taxiway requested emergency service to check for any smoke visible on the outside of the aircraft. The crew advised that everything looked okay in the inside of the aircraft, and the aircraft taxied to the apron about 3 minutes later The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground in Zurich for about 47 hours, then positioned to Copenhagen. https://avherald.com/h?article=52e1ef49&opt=0 Incident: Jin B772 at Okinawa on Oct 7th 2025, engine failure A Jin Air Boeing 777-200, registration HL7743 performing flight LJ-342 from Okinawa (Japan) to Seoul (South Korea) with 405 people on board, was climbing out of Okinawa's runway 36R when the crew stopped the climb at about 18000 feet due to the failure of the left hand engine (PW4090) and shut the left engine down. The aircraft returned to Okinawa for a safe landing on runway 36R about 30 minutes after departure. Japan's Ministry of Transport reported the occurrence. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration HL8012 reached Seoul with a delay of about 12 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Okinawa about 34 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=52e1e8d3&opt=0 Incident: REX SF34 at Adelaide on Oct 8th 2025, rejected takeoff due to engine failure A REX Regional Express Saab 340B, registration VH-ZPN performing flight ZL-4818 from Adelaide,SA to Broken Hill,NS (Australia), was accelerating for takeoff from Adelaide's runway 05 when the crew rejected takeoff at high speed (about 105 knots over ground) due to the failure of the left hand engine (CT7). The aircraft slowed safely and returned to the apron. Australia's ATSB reported: "During take-off, the crew received abnormal left engine indications and rejected the take-off. During the rejected take-off, the left engine failed." and opened an investigation. https://avherald.com/h?article=52e1e065&opt=0 Panic ensues mid-flight after death of air force marshal prompts emergency landing A British Airways flight from the UK to Nigeria had to make an emergency landing after a retired military commander died in flight — causing panic and a pregnant woman to suffer a medical episode. The victim, Osita Obierika, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), had reportedly been returning home after receiving treatment for cancer in the UK, Nigerian media reported. The flight had reportedly departed at London’s Heathrow Airport at 11 p.m. on Sunday and was slated to touchdown at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by 5 a.m. on Monday. Tragedy struck after the Octogenarian ex-commander fell seriously ill and died two and a half hours into the trip. The pilot subsequently called a medical emergency and decided to divert to El Prat Airport in Barcelona, Spain. A British Airways flight from London, UK to Abuja, Nigeria had to make an emergency landing after a retired military commander named Osita Obierika died inflight — sparking a panic and a pregnant woman to suffer a medical episode. However, this news reportedly caused passengers to panic, reportedly causing a pregnant woman to suffer a medical issue, the Daily Mail reported. No further info was provided about said passenger and her condition remains unclear. British Airways apologized for the disruption in a statement. “Passengers are advised to expect an email with more information and can reach out to the airline’s Live Chat feature for support,” airline reps said, per the Daily Trust. “British Airways acknowledges the inconvenience and thanks passengers for their patience and understanding.” The airline also arranged for a replacement aircraft to ferry the passengers to their final destination in Abuja. The original flight had been slated to depart Barcelona at 2:00 p.m. local time and arrive in Abuja at 7 p.m., but takeoff was postponed until 2:50 p.m. with touchdown projected for 5:45 p.m. Nigerian time. This isn’t the first time someone has died in midair of late. Over the summer, a Turkish Airlines passenger died aboard a plane flying from Turkey to California after suffering “a severe medical emergency.” The crew subsequently planned to divert the plane to Keflavik Airport in Iceland, but ultimately decided against it and ended up landing at Chicago O’Hare Airport. Per aviation blog Aviation A2Z, the urgency to make an emergency landing decreases after a passenger dies, allowing the crew to find an airport that is better equipped to handle the situation. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/panic-ensues-mid-flight-death-131030048.html Putin says Russian air defenses responsible for Azerbaijani jet crash that killed 38 Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia’s air defenses were responsible for shooting down an Azerbaijani airliner in December that killed 38 people in the first admission of responsibility for the crash MOSCOW -- MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that Russia’s air defenses were responsible for shooting down an Azerbaijani airliner in December that killed 38 people in his first admission of blame for the crash. Putin made the statement at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev in Tajikistan’s capital of Dushanbe, where both are attending a summit of the former Soviet nations. The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crashed on Dec. 25, 2024, while on a flight from Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya. Azerbaijani authorities said the jet was accidentally hit by fire from Russian air defenses, then tried to land in western Kazakhstan when it crashed, killing 38 of 67 people aboard. Putin has apologized to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident” but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. Aliyev, meanwhile, criticized Moscow for trying to “hush up” the incident https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/putin-russian-air-defenses-responsible-azerbaijani-jets-crash-126361029 Airbus Delivers 73 Aircraft In September, Needs 313 More To Meet Its 2025 Target Paul has had a career of 25+ years focused on the international technology sector, which has taken him to over 100 countries. Along the way, he developed a deep love for aviation, with a travel bucket list measured by aircraft types flown rather than destinations reached. Now he is bringing that avgeek passion, along with the journalism experience he accumulated early in his career, to write insightful pieces for Simple Flying. Airbus delivered 73 new aircraft to 41 customers in September 2025, making it the best month for deliveries so far this year. This was also the manufacturer's best September on record, far outpacing the 50 aircraft it delivered in the same month last year. Monthly deliveries also increased by 12 frames over its delivery figures from August. Can Airbus Achieve Its 2025 Target? Airbus has now handed over 507 aircraft to its customers so far this year, which means that it still needs to deliver 313 aircraft to meet its target of 820 aircraft deliveries in 2025, per The Guardian. That's no small task, as it will require the manufacturer to deliver more than 100 frames per month on average in the final quarter, which is far in excess of the pace it has set year-to-date. However, it's not impossible, as Airbus showed last year when it delivered 123 aircraft in December. Airbus fell behind early in the year, only averaging 45 deliveries per month in Q1 and 56 in Q2. The main reason was due to delays with its engine suppliers. Reuters recently reported that Airbus has more than 60 aircraft that are fully built but still awaiting their engines from Pratt & Whitney or CFM to be delivered and fitted. Often referred to as 'gliders,' these nearly-done aircraft account for a large portion of the manufacturer's delivery shortfall to date. Despite the challenges, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury recently told CNBC that they are still "on track" to reach the company's goal of delivering 820 units in 2025: “All our attention will be on engine deliveries from both CFM and Pratt & Whitney, but they’re telling us that they will be able to deliver what we need. So we remain positive for the back end of the year.” Unsurprisingly, the bulk of Airbus' September deliveries were from the A320 family, which included 18 A320neos and 40 of the stretched A321neos. A rare sight in the schedule was the delivery of an A319neo. Unlike the popular A319ceo, which achieved nearly 1,500 orders in its 25-year production run, the A319neo has garnered much less attention from airlines and has amassed only 57 orders to date. The unit delivered in September was for Air China, the second A319ceo in its order for 10 of the type. In total, Airbus has delivered 507 aircraft to 79 different customers in 2025. However, some customers stand out for the sheer number of deliveries they have taken so far this year, with three of them having already received more than 30 aircraft. China Southern: The Chinese carrier has received 34 aircraft from Airbus in the first three quarters of the year, made up of two A319neos, 11 A320neos, and 21 A321neos. Delta Air Lines: The Atlanta-based airline has taken 31 aircraft across four different variants — six A220s, 15 A321neos, seven A330-900s, and three A350-900s. IndiGo: The Indian carrier has more than 1,200 outstanding orders for A320 family aircraft, about 17% of the total backlog. It has taken delivery of 31 A321s so far this year. Some other positive news for Airbus were the 9 A220 deliveries. The manufacturer has set itself a longer-term goal of producing 14 A220s a month between its two final assembly lines in Canada and the US. But it has been falling short of that all year, with an average monthly delivery rate of just 6.5 aircraft, so the uptick is promising. Airbus also recently had cause to celebrate as the 100th A220 produced in the US rolled off the line in Mobile, Alabama, and was delivered to Breeze Airways. Probably the biggest highlight for Airbus was that September was the month when the A320 family finally surpassed the Boeing 737 to become the world's most delivered commercial jetliner. But it was also a cause for celebration for many of its customers as well. For Air Côte d'Ivoire, it was taking delivery of its first A330-900, marking the introduction of the first-ever widebody aircraft into the airline's fleet. This has allowed it to launch non-stop flights from Abidjan to Paris for the first time. Air Niugini, the national carrier of Papua New Guinea, took delivery of its first-ever Airbus aircraft, an A220-300. It has a total order for 11 A220s, which will replace the airline's aging Fokker 70 and Fokker 100 jets that it acquired from KLM over a decade ago. The A220 delivery was timed to coincide with celebrations for Papua New Guinea's 50th Independence anniversary, and features a special livery with 11 colors. Croatia Airlines already has six A220-300s in its fleet, but in September it received its first Airbus A220-100. This delivery was notable because the aircraft was configured with 127 seats, making it the highest-capacity A220-100 in service worldwide. The jet, named 'Dubrovnik,' is part of the airline's major fleet renewal program, which aims to transition to an all-Airbus A220 fleet by 2027. https://simpleflying.com/airbus-73-aircraft-september-313-more-to-meet-2025-target/ GE Aerospace's flight data app rapidly expands user base (Reuters) -The number of commercial pilots using GE Aerospace's flight data monitoring app, FlightPulse, has expanded rapidly from 40,000 a year ago to more than 60,000, and the company expects to exceed 70,000 by year-end. The app, the only one of its kind used commercially, allows pilots to evaluate their performances across various metrics compared to other pilots and learn to fly more efficiently and safely. Airlines pay an undisclosed fee per pilot to use it, and the app burnishes the engine-maker's reputation for safety and efficiency with its airline customers. Qantas Captain Mark Cameron has been using FlightPulse to get accustomed to the Airbus A321, which he recently started flying after years in the much larger A330 twin-aisle jet. It is easier to take off or land too steeply in the single-aisle A321, which could cause the jet's tail to hit the runway, he noted. "And so, FlightPulse tells me what my attitude was on every landing." Qantas uses FlightPulse data from all of its pilots to make its flight operations more efficient and safer, said Cameron, who is also the executive manager of group safety for the Qantas Group, which includes seven airlines. "We drive a lot of our operational efficiency and provide data to our pilots through FlightPulse." Since helping GE Aerospace launch the app in 2017, Qantas has used it to improve operational practices across the airline, such as recommending pilots use less reverse thrust to slow down after landing when safe to do so, adding up to fuel savings. Each airline can only access its own data, said Andrew Coleman, who runs GE Aerospace’s Software as a Service division. FlightPulse is used by 42 airlines, which range from 200 pilots to more than 15,000, and include Qantas, Delta Air Lines, and NetJets, a private business jet operator. Coleman hopes to surpass 100,000 pilots as registered users in 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ge-aerospaces-flight-data-app-100252261.html Turkish Airlines chair says may switch Boeing 737 order to Airbus if engine talks fail STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Turkish Airlines could switch a recently announced order for Boeing 737 MAX jets to rival Airbus if talks with engine supplier CFM fail to make progress, the airline's Chair Ahmet Bolat said. The warning comes after the Turkish flag carrier announced a tentative order with Boeing for 150 MAX planes coinciding with a meeting on September 25 between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, subject to a separate engine deal. Transatlantic venture CFM International, co-owned by GE Aerospace and Safran, is the sole engine supplier for the Boeing 737 MAX and competes with RTX unit Pratt & Whitney for airline contracts on the Airbus A320neo family. DISAGREEMENT ON COSTS "If CFM comes to feasible economical terms then we are going to sign with Boeing," Bolat told Reuters in Stockholm late on Wednesday. He added negotiations had made some progress, but disagreements on costs remained. "If CFM continues its stance we'll change to Airbus. With Airbus I have choices," Bolat said, referring to the European planemaker's two engine suppliers. CFM, the world's largest engine maker by the number of units sold, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Boeing declined to comment. The deal is part of a major fleet replacement and expansion to around 800 aircraft by 2033, after Turkish Airlines (THY) ordered more than 200 Airbus planes in 2023. Industry sources said they still expected a deal to be reached, given the recent political attention to it and scarce supplies of competing Airbus jets. But the comments highlight recent tensions in the jet engine market. A spate of engine shortages and growing maintenance delays have driven up engine parts prices and led to growing discord between suppliers and airlines across the aviation industry. Airlines globally have voiced frustration over the disruption, including THY which is facing delays linked to Pratt & Whitney engines on its existing Airbus fleet. Engine makers say they need to be rewarded for huge financial risks. On a positive note for Boeing, Bolat said THY was still considering placing orders for the troubled 777X mini-jumbo, despite recent reports of further setbacks to the long-delayed programme, and was closely monitoring its development. Boeing's 777X, the world's largest twin-engined passenger plane, has faced repeated delays and is now expected to be ready in 2027, some seven years behind its original schedule. Bolat said THY remained in regular contact with Boeing, including discussions concerning the 777X, and was assessing which routes the aircraft would be best suited for. "Once we have the right time, we're going to order some 777X," Bolat said, adding that THY was in no rush to order. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/turkish-airlines-chair-says-may-103306142.html Major Boeing customer Ryanair sees 737 production hitting 48 per month by April MADRID (Reuters) -Major Boeing customer Ryanair said on Wednesday it was confident the U.S. planemaker would get permission to boost the monthly production rate of its flagship 737 model to 42 in October and then 48 by March or April next year. The Irish airline, Boeing's largest European customer, has had to repeatedly cut growth forecasts due to delays at Boeing, which is working to stabilise production after a mid-air panel blowout on a new 737 MAX in January 2024 exposed widespread production quality and safety problems. Ryanair Group Chief Executive Michael O'Leary, whose team holds regular meetings with Boeing management, said he was "fairly confident" that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration would sign off on an increase in monthly production from 38 to 42 in October. RYANAIR 'PRETTY CONFIDENT' ABOUT PROGRESS AT BOEING "Will the FAA then allow them to go to rate 48 next March, April, which is ... the next big jump? We're pretty confident that will happen," he told Reuters in an interview. The FAA capped 737 MAX production at 38 per month in early 2024 after the panel blowout. It said on September 26 that Boeing had not sought a rate increase, but that if it did, onsite FAA safety inspectors would conduct extensive reviews. Boeing said earlier that month that it did not foresee any supply chain problems preventing it from lifting monthly 737 MAX output to 42 by year-end. The other big question facing Boeing is the timing of regulatory approval for the new 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 aircraft. Ryanair has 150 firm orders for the MAX 10. "Will they get the MAX 7 and MAX 10 certified in 2026? ... Boeing are telling us they're now very confident that certification will take place." While welcoming recent progress at Boeing, O'Leary said there were no guarantees. "So we're pretty confident, but it could still be disrupted," he said. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/major-boeing-customer-ryanair-sees-151153782.html CALENDAR OF EVENTS . 2025 NBAA Single-Pilot Safety Standdown; Monday, Oct. 13 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; Las Vegas, NV . 2025 NBAA National Safety Forum, Tuesday, Oct. 14 – Wednesday, Oct. 15; Las Vegas, NV . Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC™) - 2025 – October 27-29th (Omaha, Nebraska) . 78TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SAFETY SUMMIT (IASS) - Lisbon, November 4–6 . 29th annual Bombardier Safety Standdown, November 11-13, 2025; Wichita, Kansas · CHC Safety & Quality Summit, 11th – 13th November 2025, Vancouver, BC Canada . 2026 ACSF Safety Symposium; April 7-9, 2026; ERAU Daytona Beach, FL . 2026 NBAA Maintenance Conference; May 5-7, 2026; New Orleans, LA . BASS 2026 - 71st Business Aviation Safety Summit - May 5-6, 2026 | Provo, Utah . The African Aviation Safety & Operations Summit - May 19-20 | Johannesburg, South Africa . Safeskies Australia - Australia’s renowned Aviation Safety Conference - Canberra Australia 20 and 21 May 2026 . 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) Oct. 20-22, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV Curt Lewis