Flight Safety Information - February 17, 2026 No. 034 In This Issue : Incident: JAC AT72 at Osaka on Feb 14th 2026, hydraulic problems : Incident: Allegiant A319 near Fort Walton Beach on Feb 13th 2026, loss of cabin pressure : Incident: SAS A20N near Trondheim on Feb 14th 2026, passenger's power bank thermal runaway : Incident: Fly2Sky A320 at Asaba on Feb 14th 2026, bird strike : Incident: United B763 near Dublin on Feb 15th 2026, electrical problems : Incident: LATAM Brasil B773 at Sao Paulo on Feb 15th 2026, rejected takeoff past V1 : Terrifying Video Shows Plane Flying with Shredded Engine After Crew Hears ‘Loud Bang’ Mid-Flight : FAA orders merit-based pilot hiring as Trump DEI crackdown continues : FSF Warns of Rising Risk in Mixed-Use Airspace Near Busy Airports : Spirit Airlines A320neos to be scrapped for parts at just 4 years old : Calendar of Events Incident: JAC AT72 at Osaka on Feb 14th 2026, hydraulic problems A JAC Japan Air Commuter Avions de Transport Regional on behalf JAL Japan Airlines, registration JA01JC performing flight JC-2323/JL-2323 from Osaka Itami to Tajima (Japan) with 51 people on board, was climbing out of Itami's runway 32R when the crew stopped the climb at 10,000 feet due to hydraulic problems and entered a hold. The aircraft returned to Itami for a safe landing on runway 32L about 65 minutes after departure. Japan's Ministry of Transport reported there were no injuries and no damage to the aircraft. The aircraft returned to service about 5 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=5350bbac&opt=0 Incident: Allegiant A319 near Fort Walton Beach on Feb 13th 2026, loss of cabin pressure An Allegiant Airbus A319-100, registration N331NV performing flight G4-3045 from St. Peterburg,FL to Knoxville,TN (USA), was enroute at FL340 about 160nm east of Fort Walton Beach,FL (USA) when the crew initiated an emergency descent due to the loss of cabin pressure and diverted to Fort Walton Beach for a safe landing on runway 20 about 30 minutes after leaving FL340. The FAA reported: "Allegiant Air Flight 3045 landed safely at Destin Executive Airport in Florida around 3:20 p.m. local time on Friday, Feb. 13, after the crew reported a pressurization issue. The flight departed from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in Florida and was traveling to McGhee Tyson Airport in Tennessee." The aircraft remained on the ground in Fort Walton Beach for about 2.5 hours, then continued the flight climbing to FL390 and reached Knoxville with a delay of about 3 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=5350b88d&opt=0 Incident: SAS A20N near Trondheim on Feb 14th 2026, passenger's power bank thermal runaway A SAS Scandinavian Airlines Airbus A320-200N, registration SE-RUO performing flight SK-4416 from Oslo to Tromso (Norway) with 186 people on board, was enroute at FL350 about 40nm east of Trondheim (Norway) when the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and decided to divert to Trondheim. The aircraft landed safely on Trondheim's runway 09 about 35 minutes after leaving FL350. Local Authorities reported, a passenger's power bank had suffered a thermal runaway and was emitting smoke, the crew decided to have fire services handle the device's temperature did not come down. There had been no smoke in the cockpit. The aircraft remained on the ground in Trondheim for 26 hours before returning to service. https://avherald.com/h?article=5350b022&opt=0 Incident: Fly2Sky A320 at Asaba on Feb 14th 2026, bird strike A Fly2Sky Airbus A320-200, registration LZ-FSJ performing flight UN-523 from Asaba to Lagos (Nigeria), suffered a bird strike on departure from Asaba and continued the flight for a safe landing in Lagos. The airline reported the aircraft needed to be withdrawn from service. The aircraft is still on the ground in Lagos 25 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=5350abc6&opt=0 Incident: United B763 near Dublin on Feb 15th 2026, electrical problems A United Boeing 767-300, registration N657UA performing positioning flight UA-3907 from Munich (Germany) to Newark,NJ (USA), was enroute at FL340 about 310nm northwest of Dublin (Ireland) about to enter Oceanic Airspace when the crew decided to turn back and divert reporting electrical problems with the Integrated Drive Generator of the right hand engine (PW4060), the APU status could not be determined due to the electrical system page failing to display the EICAS. The aircraft set course into the direction of London Heathrow,EN (UK), over England decided to divert to Dublin and turned around a second time. The aircraft landed safely in Dublin about 100 minutes after first turning around. The aircraft remained on the ground in Dublin for about 20 hours, then continued the flight to Newark. The aircraft had arrived into Munich on Feb 11th 2026, remained on the ground in Munich for maintenance and departed on Feb 15th 2026 to return to the USA. https://avherald.com/h?article=5350a898&opt=0 Incident: LATAM Brasil B773 at Sao Paulo on Feb 15th 2026, rejected takeoff past V1 A LATAM Brasil Boeing 777-300, registration PT-MUH performing flight LA-8146 from Sao Paulo Guarulhos,SP (Brazil) to Lisbon (Portugal), was accelerating for takeoff from runway 09L when the crew attempted rotation, the nose gear slightly lifted off the runway, then the takeoff was rejected at about 174 knots over ground. The aircraft slowed safely, vacated the runway at the very end and stopped on the parallel taxiway. Emergency services responded, the passengers disembarked via stairs onto the taxiway. https://avherald.com/h?article=53506ffd&opt=0 Terrifying Video Shows Plane Flying with Shredded Engine After Crew Hears ‘Loud Bang’ Mid-Flight An Arik Air flight made an emergency landing on Feb. 11 after crew members heard a “loud bang” “There were no injuries to passengers and crew as all 80 passengers on board were safely disembarked,” the airline wrote in a statement In videos of the incident, the aircraft’s engine appeared visibly charred and damaged before a piece of the plane’s metal casing began to hang off, exposing the machinery inside An Arik Air flight made an emergency landing after a “loud bang” brought attention to the aircraft’s visibly damaged engine. On Wednesday, Feb. 11, Arik Air’s flight W3 740 from Lagos to Port Harcourt was diverted to Benin Airport after the operating crew “heard a loud bang on the left engine,” according to the airline. The Boeing 737-700 was on its descent to Port Harcourt International Airport at the time of the incident, per the airline, and diverted to Benin as a precautionary measure. “There were no injuries to passengers and crew as all 80 passengers on board were safely disembarked,” the airline wrote in a press release. “Arrangements have been made to transport the affected passengers to their final destination.” “We sincerely apologise to the affected Port Harcourt passengers whose journey has been disrupted,” the release continued. “The safety and wellbeing of passengers is always our priority at Arik Air.” While all passengers safely disembarked the aircraft, videos from the incident show the terrifying sight of the engine, which was visibly charred and mangled, through the aircraft window as the plane soared through the air. Once the aircraft made its emergency landing, a large portion of its metal casing seemed to hang off the plane, exposing the machinery inside, and flap in the wind as terrified passengers shouted in the background. While an investigation into the cause of the incident remains ongoing, the Aviation Safety Network alleged in a report that the aircraft suffered a “number one engine failure” while cruising at 27,000 feet on its way to Port Harcourt. “Photos from the scene show the engine inlet is missing and both cowlings are badly torn,” the report stated. “One fan blade appears to be missing (suggesting a Fan Blade Off [FBO] event), with other fan blades damaged. Additionally, damage was observed on the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/terrifying-video-shows-plane-flying-193934718.html FAA orders merit-based pilot hiring as Trump DEI crackdown continues The FAA is requiring all U.S. airlines to certify they are using merit-based hiring for pilots. This directive follows allegations of hiring based on race and sex, according to the Transportation Secretary. Pilot and airline associations state that all pilots meet the same high standards regardless of background. The Federal Aviation Administration said on Feb. 13 that all U.S. airlines must certify they are conducting merit-based hiring for pilots or face a federal investigation. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the action was to address "allegations of airlines hiring based on race and sex," and added under the directive "all U.S. carriers will be required to certify this practice is terminated." Shortly after taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump issued sweeping executive orders to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the United States and pressured the private sector to join the initiative. There is no evidence that any U.S. airline is employing unqualified pilots. The FAA notice Friday said airlines must "ensure pilot hiring is exclusively merit-based to fulfill its duty to provide the highest possible degree of safety." Capt. Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), issued a statement rejecting the idea that identity plays a role in pilot qualifications. Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more! “All ALPA pilots are trained and evaluated to the same uncompromising standard regardless of race, gender, or background," the statement said. "A pilot's identity has no bearing on their ability to safely operate an aircraft. What matters is training, experience, and qualification – and on that front, there are no shortcuts and no compromises." Airlines for America, which represents major passenger airlines including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines said "safety is, and always will be, the top priority for U.S. airlines." The group said its "carriers comply with all federal regulations and laws, including those related to qualifications, training and licensing." U.S. airline pilots have historically been overwhelmingly white and male. Captain Phil Daniels on Delta Air Lines flight 1218 from Austin, Texas to Detroit on Monday, April 8, 2024. United, which in 2021 set a goal to train 5,000 new pilots by 2030 with at least half being women or people of color, said at the time that only about 7% of its roughly 12,000 pilots were women and 13% were people of color. The airline declined to comment on Friday. Three weeks into the Trump administration, the FAA reversed a four-year-old decision to rename safety messages to pilots and reinstated the prior "Notice to Airmen" term. In December 2021, the FAA under former President Joe Biden renamed the messages "Notices to Air Missions," commonly known as NOTAMs, saying it was "inclusive of all aviators and missions." https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2026/02/16/faa-merit-based-pilot-hiring-order/88700875007/ FSF Warns of Rising Risk in Mixed-Use Airspace Near Busy Airports News provided by Flight Safety Foundation ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Increasing operational complexity and growing demand from traditional and nontraditional operators is putting ever greater pressure on the aviation safety ecosystem, Flight Safety Foundation warned today in releasing its 2025 Safety Report. The industry must respond with clear standards, strong oversight, robust safety management, and decisive safety leadership, the Foundation said. While international airliner accidents declined in 2025 from the previous year, a dozen fatal accidents resulted in more than 400 fatalities among passengers and crew and another 33 people on the ground, according to the Foundation's Aviation Safety Network (ASN). In particular, the Jan. 29, 2025, midair collision of a PSA Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport highlighted the risk inherent in busy, mixed-use airspace. Reducing the risk in mixed-use airspace requires effective civil-military coordination, improved situational awareness, modernized and interoperable surveillance and communications, and clear deconfliction standards, among other elements. "This is not a localized issue; it is a rising global safety challenge as aircraft in the military, commercial, general aviation, and rotorcraft sectors, converge near high-density terminals alongside drones and similar new entrants," said Foundation President and CEO Dr. Hassan Shahidi. "Managing that convergence requires shared accountability: clear procedures, interoperable equipage, data-driven oversight, and decisive action on recurring risk signals." In response, the Foundation launched an international task force to coordinate development of the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Airborne Conflict. Increasing traffic density, greater operational diversity, and the introduction of new entrants are reshaping exposure and system resilience. Preventing airborne conflict requires collective expertise, shared ownership, and coordinated global action, the Foundation said. In addition to reducing risks in mixed-use airspace, the Foundation calls on industry stakeholders to focus on strengthening system capacity and resilience to keep pace with demand and complexity and on restoring and reinforcing the global safety learning cycle through disciplined compliance, mature safety management systems, and transparent accident investigations and reporting. "A system operating near its limits has less margin to absorb variability, disruptions, and surprises," Shahidi said. "Safety improves when hazards are reported, analyzed, and acted upon, and when lessons learned are shared quickly enough to prevent the next occurrence." The 2025 Safety Report, which is based on an analysis of data drawn from the ASN database, shows there were 101 accidents involving airliners of all types in 2025 and that 12 of those events were fatal accidents. The report details airliner and corporate jet accidents based on accident category, phase of flight, and type of operation, among other factors. About Flight Safety Foundation (flightsafety.org) Flight Safety Foundation is an independent, nonprofit, international organization engaged in research, education, and communications to improve aviation safety. The Foundation's mission is to connect, influence, and lead global aviation safety. Media Contact: Frank Jackman Director, Communications and Research +1 703.739.6700, ext. 116 jackman@flightsafety.org SOURCE Flight Safety Foundation https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fsf-warns-of-rising-risk-in-mixed-use-airspace-near-busy-airports-302689054.html Spirit Airlines A320neos to be scrapped for parts at just 4 years old As Spirit Airlines shrinks, its aircraft are finding out that life after first owner is not a happy place for new technology jets. The desperate state of Spirit Airlines’ finances has sealed the fate of at least two of its former aircraft. A pair of A320neos, both just a few years old, have been acquired by an asset management company and will be torn down for parts. They are the youngest new generation aircraft ever to be dismantled. MSN 10769 and MSN 10921, aged just 4 and 3.5 years, were delivered new to Spirit Airlines from Airbus, one in December ’21, the other in July 2022. Both stopped flying in the first half of 2025. Now, these young, efficient aircraft, costing over $110 million when new, will be scrapped and scavenged for spares to keep the in-service fleet in the air. Scrapping is already underway for the first two Spirit A320neos EirTrade Aviation, a Dublin-headquartered aviation asset management company, shared today that it had concluded the acquisition of MSN 10769 and 10921, formerly N950NK and N959NK in Spirit Airlines service. The two aircraft are to be torn down in Goodyear, Arizona, with parts funnelled to EirTrade’s hub in Dallas to support in-service aircraft. “We are focused on newer vintage aircraft to ensure that our inventory contains the highest quality rotables, which ensure that our customers can be supported with the latest modification standard components,” says Bill Thompson, Vice President Origination & Trading for the Americas at EirTrade Aviation. “We have also acquired four sets of in-demand LRU and BFE components from the PW1100 engine type within this significant transaction.” Line Replacement Units (LRUs) are modular components designed to be removed and replaced rapidly. On the Pratt & Whitney GTF, which powers the A320neo, this could include sensors, actuators, FADEC or any other consumable components. Buyer Furnished Equipment (BFE) could be anything that Spirit had to go along with that powerplant, over and above the basic engine. This could be anything from avionics interfaces to quick-change kits, but clearly adds to the appeal for a reseller like EirTrade. EirTrade has confirmed that disassembly of the two A320neos is already underway. Within the next few weeks, by the end of the first quarter, the company says that parts from these aircraft will be removed, repaired and available on the market. Why are technology aircraft worth more in pieces than as entire planes? The scrapping of two incredibly young Spirit Airlines Airbus A320neos is a mark of an industry in crisis. Since the pandemic, aviation manufacturing has struggled to get back on track. Still reeling from a loss of talent and momentum during the shutdown, a dearth of raw materials has served to rot the supply chain from the bottom up, making the once well-oiled machine of MRO and manufacturing volatile and unpredictable. Pour over the top of that a cocktail of higher energy costs, geopolitical shocks, tariffs and quality slips, and it becomes a wonder MRO is still taking place at all. Pratt & Whitney’s high-profile GTF recall, which has grounded hundreds of passenger jets (and continues to do so), has added fuel to the fire. Even those airlines that have already had the GTF fix live in fear of an aircraft going ‘tech’, knowing that any time in MRO, particularly for engine-related matters, is going to be much longer than it should be. Aircraft on ground (AOG) are expensive issues for commercial airlines. An asset that should be earning thousands of dollars a day is instead sitting idle and costing thousands of dollars a day. The longer they sit, the bigger the losses. Airlines under pressure are prepared to pay over the odds for the parts they need to keep aircraft flying, and that makes an off-lease airframe a valuable proposition. A growing trend of young aircraft being scrapped Over recent months, we’ve seen numerous young airframes scrapped, as the parts shortage continues to put pressure on airlines and traders. Up to now, the youngest new technology Airbus aircraft to be scrapped were a pair of IndiGo A321neos. The narrowbodies were torn down at just six years old. In June last year, the first-ever Airbus A220 was scrapped. The ex-EgyptAir aircraft was parted out at just five years old as the GTF-related impact proved too much for the airline to absorb. Spirit Airlines is rapidly shrinking its fleet as it fights its way through its second bankruptcy. With many more of its heavily A320neo-family fleet now back with lessors, there could well be more news of young aircraft being scrapped in the weeks ahead. https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/spirit-airlines-airbus-a320neo-scrapped/ CALENDAR OF EVENTS . VERTICON 2026 - Atlanta March 9-12 . CANSO Global Safety Conference 2026 - 29 March – 1 April 2026 (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) . 60th Annual SMU Air Law Symposium - March 31 - April 1, 2026 (Irving, TX) . 2026 ACSF Safety Symposium; April 7-9, 2026; ERAU Daytona Beach, FL . 2026 NBAA Maintenance Conference; May 5-7, 2026; New Orleans, LA . World Aviation Training Summit - 5-7 May 2026 - Orlando . 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 . IATA World Maintenance & Engineering Symposium (23-25 June, Madrid, Spain) . ISASI - 2026 (September/October 2026) - Dubai, UAE . 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) Oct. 20-22, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV Curt Lewis