Flight Safety Information - April 29, 2024 No. 085 In This Issue : Accident: Laser MD83 at Caracas on Apr 28th 2024, smoke in cabin after landing : Incident: FlyNAS A20N at Riyadh on Apr 28th 2024, runway excursion on landing : Incident: Delta B763 at New York on Apr 26th 2024, emergency slide trouble : A Japan Airlines flight was canceled after the pilot got drunk at a Dallas hotel bar and police were called : US lawmakers strike deal to boost aviation safety, will not raise pilot retirement age : Two planes flying between Finland and Estonia forced to return to departure airport due to Russian GPS interference : 'Unruly passenger' causes Delta flight to land in San Francisco : Fastest in-flight WiFi yet? Testing Starlink on Hawaiian Airlines : Cruz proposal for lawmakers facing threats to get special airport security escorts is blocked : Zero luggage lost: Japan's Kansai Airport keeps 30-year record going : Air China signs deal to buy 100 C919 aircraft for $11b : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Accident: Laser MD83 at Caracas on Apr 28th 2024, smoke in cabin after landing A Laser Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registration YV3465 performing flight QL-943 from Maracaibo to Caracas (Venezuela) with 91 people on board, had landed safely on Caracas' runway 10L and had taxied to the apron, when upon reaching the gate the emergency slides were deployed and an evacuation was carried out due to smoke on board. A number of passengers received minor injuries as result of the (disorderly) evacuation. Medical services deployed and took a number of passengers to local hospitals. Videos show passengers sliding down with their luggage and falling down, luggage sliding down hitting other passenger, one woman remained on the floor after falling and was taken away. Nonetheless, the airport reported there were no injuries. Venezuela's Ministry of Interior reported the flight with 91 people was destined for Santo Domingo. Passengers reported they were just arriving from Maracaibo when the smoke appeared in the cabin and the slides were suddenly deployed. The airline did not yet comment on the occurrence. The occurrence aircraft was able to depart for Santo Domingo with a delay of about 3 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=518002f2&opt=0 Incident: FlyNAS A20N at Riyadh on Apr 28th 2024, runway excursion on landing A FlyNAS Airbus A320-200N, registration HZ-NS45 performing flight XY-224 from Doha (Qatar) to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), landed on Riyadh's runway 15L at 19:34L (16:34Z) but veered right off the runway crossing the right runway edge at about 75 knots over ground, went over soft ground with all gear and came to a stop on a taxiway. There were no injuries, the aircraft sustained minor if any damage. Riyadh Airport reported all passengers of flight XY-224 disembarked safely. Saudi Arabia's NTSC announced they have opened an investigation into the runway excursion of a FlyNAS aircraft in Riyadh arriving from Doha. https://avherald.com/h?article=517fe9f9&opt=0 Incident: Delta B763 at New York on Apr 26th 2024, emergency slide trouble A Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N176DN performing flight DL-520 from New York JFK,NY to Los Angeles,CA (USA), was climbing out of JFK's runway 22R when the crew stopped the climb at FL190 and decided to return to JFK reporting vibrations of the airframe. The aircraft landed safely on runway 22L about 30 minutes after departure. The FAA reported: "Delta Air Lines Flight 520 returned safely to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York around 8:35 a.m. local time on Friday, April 26, after the crew reported a vibration. The Boeing 767 was headed to Los Angeles International Airport. The FAA will investigate." A post flight inspection revealed the right hand overwing emergency slide was missing. The airline reported the crew received an indication concerning the right hand wing emergency slide and heard some sound from the right hand wing. https://avherald.com/h?article=517e43f3&opt=0 A Japan Airlines flight was canceled after the pilot got drunk at a Dallas hotel bar and police were called A Japan Airlines flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled after the captain got drunk in a hotel. A replacement pilot could not be found in time for the morning departure. The airline told Japanese media that police were called due to the pilot's disorderly behavior. A Japan Airlines flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled after a captain got drunk at a hotel bar and received a warning from police, the airline said, according to Japanese media. The Mainichi, which cited a statement from Japan Airlines, reported that the captain dined in Dallas last week with other crew members. According to the outlet, the airline said he then continued to drink throughout the evening in the hotel lounge where the crew were staying and, later, in his hotel room. At around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, a hotel employee asked the group to be quiet, but the pilot's disorderly conduct prompted a call to the police, The Mainichi reported. According to statements provided by the airline, police questioned the man and warned him not to cause any further problems. The newspaper said the airline's decision to cancel the flight stemmed from the need to assess the captain's physical and mental well-being. Japan Airlines did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Japan Airlines told The Mainichi it could not find a replacement pilot in time for the Wednesday morning departure. Data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware shows that the flight, due to depart at 11:05 a.m. local time on Wednesday, was canceled. Japan Airlines helped to transfer the 157 passengers who were supposed to be on board onto alternative flights, The Mainichi reported. Although a relatively rare occurrence, there have been several recent incidents of pilots reporting for duty under the influence. In March, a Delta Air Lines captain admitted to turning up for a flight while over the legal alcohol limit. He was arrested after failing a breathalyzer test in June last year, and was later sentenced to 10 months in prison. In 2023, a United Airlines pilot who showed up to work under the influence was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence by a French court. Le Parisien reported that he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.132%, more than six times the legal limit for pilots in Europe and three times the Federal Aviation Administration's limit. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a pilot's ability to fly a plane is significantly impaired by alcohol use. It said that the number of serious errors pilots commit dramatically increases at or above concentrations of 0.04% blood alcohol. https://www.yahoo.com/news/japan-airlines-flight-canceled-pilot-105032061.html US lawmakers strike deal to boost aviation safety, will not raise pilot retirement age WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. House and Senate negotiators said early Monday they had reached a deal to boost air traffic controller staffing and boost funding to avert runway close-call incidents, but will not increase the airline pilot retirement age to 67 from 65. The U.S. House of Representatives in July voted 351-69 on a sweeping bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that would also raise the mandatory pilot retirement age to 67 but the Senate Commerce Committee had voted in February to reject the retirement age increase. International rules would have prevented airline pilots older than 65 from flying in most countries outside the United States. Congress has temporarily extended authorization for the FAA through May 10 as it works on a new $105 billion, five-year deal. The Senate is set to vote this week on the more than 1,000-page bipartisan proposal. The bill prohibits airlines from charging fees for families to sit together and requires airlines to accept vouchers and credits for at least five years, but did not adopt many stricter consumer rules sought by the Biden administration. The bill also requires airplanes to be equipped with 25-hour cockpit recording devices and directs the FAA to deploy advanced airport surface technology to help prevent collisions. Efforts to boost aviation safety in the United States have taken on new urgency after a series of near-miss incidents and the Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines ALK.N Boeing BA.N 737 MAX 9 door plug mid-air emergency. Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell, the panel's top Republican, Ted Cruz, House Transportation Committee chair Sam Graves and the committee's top Democrat, Rick Larsen, in a joint statement announced the agreement and said "now more than ever, the FAA needs strong and decisive direction from Congress to ensure America’s aviation system maintains its gold standard." The proposal raises maximum civil penalties for airline consumer violations from $25,000 per violation to $75,000 and aims to address a shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers by directing the FAA to implement improved staffing standards and to hire more inspectors, engineers and technical specialists. Congress will not establish minimum seat size requirements, leaving that instead to the FAA. The bill requires the Transportation Department to create a dashboard that shows consumers the minimum seat size for each U.S. airline. The bill boosts by five the number of daily direct flights from Washington Reagan National Airport. Cantwell said the agreement - including a five-year reauthorization for the National Transportation Safety Board - demonstrates aviation safety and stronger consumer standards are a big priority. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-lawmakers-strike-deal-boost-aviation-safety-will-not-hike-pilot-retirement-2024-04-29/ Two planes flying between Finland and Estonia forced to return to departure airport due to Russian GPS interference According to EASA, the European Aviation Safety Agency, there is no problems related to flight safety, but cyber attacks since the invasion of Ukraine have increased Brussels – Two planes were forced to return to the departure airport because of disturbances to the GPS, the system that reports the aircraft’s position relative to the Earth. It is what happened to two Finnair flights from Helsinki to Tartu in Estonia, a 45-minute flight. Authorities suspect that Russia was responsible for the malfunction of the GPS. “If someone turns off your headlights while driving at night, it becomes dangerous,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told the Financial Times, adding: “Things near the Russian borders are becoming too dangerous to ignore.” Also agreeing and concerned about the situation was Estonia’s Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahknache, who said, “Such actions are a hybrid attack and pose a threat to our people and our security. We will not tolerate them.” For the Estonian Air Navigation Services Company (EANS), GPS interference has increased recently and is impacting air traffic procedures. The EASA, the European Aviation Safety Agency, is studying the situation but says that, at the moment, there are no imminent safety problems. Airplanes have various systems that allow them to understand their position. However, approaching Tartu’s small airport at night requires GPS, as the airport does not have instrument landing systems (ILS). This prompted the two crews to decide to return to Helsinki. It is not the first time Moscow has obscured aircraft tracking signals. On March 14, an RAF (Royal Air Force) aircraft carrying Grant Shapps, UK Secretary of State for Defense, was involved. The jet was without a GPS signal for more than half an hour while airborne in Polish airspace, not far from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad,the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet. Experts note that provoking momentary damage to the GPS network is feasible with fairly inexpensive equipment. The purpose of such action could be to protect Kaliningrad from drone-led attacks by the Ukrainians. In recent weeks, Kyiv hit the Serpukhov corvette in the port of the Russian exclave. Drones, unlike aircraft, use only GPS to figure out their positioning. A malfunction of this system would be equivalent to putting the drones out of order. https://www.eunews.it/en/2024/04/29/two-planes-flying-between-finland-and-estonia-forced-to-return-to-departure-airport-due-to-russian-gps-interference/ 'Unruly passenger' causes Delta flight to land in San Francisco A flight scheduled to land in Honolulu was diverted to California on Friday night, where the plane landed and a passenger was removed. MINNEAPOLIS — A passenger on a Delta flight from Minnesota to Hawaii was removed on Friday night, causing a two-hour delay for the rest of the plane. According to Delta, Flight 435 was diverted to San Francisco Friday due to an "unruly passenger." In a statement, Delta apologized to customers for the disruption. The flight was scheduled to scheduled to land at 4:03 p.m. local time. No other information has been released about the incident that caused the plane to land, or if any charges were filed against the offending passenger. https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/delta-flight-435-diverted-san-franciso-minneapolis/89-eae34e56-913c-4e5b-9e80-c5be8518410d Fastest in-flight WiFi yet? Testing Starlink on Hawaiian Airlines If you’ve flown recently, you know that in-flight WiFi can be slow, laggy and unresponsive. But not anymore. Hawaiian Airlines has been busy installing super speedy Starlink internet on board their planes. Recently, they brought me on board a flight from Long Beach to Honolulu to check it out. How do you know your plane has the upgrade? A sticker on the door lets you know. Look for it before you board. Then, once you’re on, the internet starts the moment you get to your seat. No need to wait to connect. Immediately, I did a few speed tests and was super impressed with the results. I got bursts of speed topping 200 megabits per second, and consistent speeds around 100. That’s similar to a connection at home. Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram I was able to stream Netflix, upload and download large files, play Roblox and even stream a Peloton workout (too bad I didn’t have a bike!). There’s really no need to plan ahead and download anymore. You can just watch what you want on your own streaming services, on demand. “It is really important for us as a smaller airline to have that distinctive level of service,” said Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram. “If you think about the real earliest generations of connectivity on airplanes… the common theme was… it was terrible.” “This is amazing,” fellow passenger Adriene Xerri told me. She’s been on flights to Hawaii many times as an employee with the travel company Pleasant Holidays. “Feedback’s been great… both from guests and flight attendants… they’ve really been impressed with the quality of the signal,” said Evan Nomura, Hawaiian Airlines’ director of in-flight entertainment and onboard products. My take: this internet is so good that in-flight entertainment systems might go by the wayside. Listen to more of my experience with Starlink on Hawaiian Airlines on my radio show! Hawaiian’s CEO told me they will continue to outfit some of their planes with screens so passengers have a choice to bring their own entertainment or watch what’s offered on seatback screens. Starlink is free… and Hawaiian plans to keep it that way. “We figured since we were later to the party of providing internet connection on our planes… that we would just jump to offering the very very best and offering if it complimentary and letting the rest of the market try to catch up to us,” said Ingram. So far, Hawaiian Airlines has outfitted all 18 of its A321neo aircraft with Starlink internet service. Later this year, it plans to expand the service to its fleet of 24 A330 planes and to its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Starlink is a game changer up in the air. While there are no data limits and you can connect multiple devices, they do ask that passengers don’t make voice or video calls, or live-stream from their seats, and offensive content is not allowed. https://ktla.com/news/fastest-in-flight-wifi-yet-testing-starlink-on-hawaiian-airlines/ Cruz proposal for lawmakers facing threats to get special airport security escorts is blocked A proposal to allow lawmakers and judges facing credible threats to get special security escorts at airports was kept out of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization because of an objection from Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.), the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The provision, backed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), would have provided security escorts and special screenings for members of Congress, judges and Cabinet members who face what federal law enforcement experts determine to be real threats. The covered individuals would not decide their own eligibility. It would have given lawmakers and judges facing threats the same treatment as senior administration officials including deputy secretaries, congressional leaders, and big-city mayors who go through special security screenings. Regardless of whether they have received threats, rank-and-file lawmakers now go through regular TSA screenings, even if they are more prominent than some of the administration officials currently exempt. And proponents say it would have minimized the burden on federal law enforcement agencies by not requiring them — but instead the official — to notify the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the covered officials’ travel plans. A staffer familiar with the negotiations said Thompson blocked the language from being added to the FAA reauthorization after the TSA lobbied against it. The source said congressional leaders and administration officials also opposed expanding the pool of federal officials eligible for special escorts. The source alleged that the TSA routinely exaggerated the scope of the proposed change and actively lobbied against it, claiming it would apply to every member of Congress. A spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department declined to comment on the TSA’s communications to Congress about the bill. Thompson’s staff did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Cruz’s proposal was added to the FAA reauthorization bill in February, but the next month, Congress had to pass a clean extension of the FAA’s authority to give lawmakers more time to hammer out a long-term bill. That extension expires May 10. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) objected to Cruz’s proposal at the time, saying it could set a “very dangerous precedent to exempt a class of people from security processes that are essential for our national security.” And in February, Kevin Murphy, executive director of the Airport Law Enforcement Agencies Network, told Politico the proposal would be “a burden to airport police agencies” and divert police from “crime suppression and security functions at airports, which is our fundamental duty.” Lawmakers who crafted the proposal did so in a way to limit special security screenings to what the Capitol Police said would only affect a small group of senators and House members facing serious threats. “Right now, there are a lot of faceless lieutenant governors and nameless mayors who are getting this specialized screening,” said the staffer familiar with the behind-the-scenes negotiation over the bill. “It should be limited to those facing a serious threat, as we sought to do here. The powers that be disagreed,” the source said. The rejected language would have given the TSA the flexibility to revoke a person’s eligibility for special screenings if they or someone in their party is discovered with a prohibited item. https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/4628183-cruz-amendmentfaa-reauthorization-special-security/ Zero luggage lost: Japan's Kansai Airport keeps 30-year record going Reliable, prompt baggage delivery will greet visitors to Osaka's Expo 2025 OSAKA -- Kansai International Airport has been responsible for no lost luggage since it opened in September 1994, gaining international recognition for prompt and reliable baggage delivery. This efficient performance behind the scenes supports a stress-free flow of passengers, and expectations are rising for the role the airport will play as a gateway for visitors to Expo 2025 in Osaka. On a late March afternoon, a large Cathay Pacific Airways airliner touched down on a runway at the airport. Five staffers from CKTS, one of the companies in the airport operator's group, used a hand truck to move cargo containers onto a luggage truck and hurriedly drove to a baggage-sorting room in a terminal building. They unloaded suitcases and other baggage from the containers and put them on turntables in the order of first, business and economy classes, according to their baggage tags. Working in pairs, they checked to confirm that no bags had been left in the containers, pointing at each item. Twelve minutes after the landing, they were done. Lost bags typically occur through staff failure to load them at the departure airport or errors in transferring them at connecting airports. According to SITA, an aviation-related system developer based in Switzerland, the world's airline companies mishandled an average 7.6 pieces of baggage per 1,000 passengers in 2022. Osaka's Expo 2025 is expected to draw 3.5 million overseas visitors. (Photo by Chihiro Matsutomi) But at Kansai Airport, no baggage has been lost due to causes attributable to the airport operator in the 30 years since its opening. The airport handled about 10 million baggage items in fiscal 2023. This successful track record is the result of multilayered checking work. The types and number of each plane's bags and its passenger transit information are ascertained by two or three staffers. "It's important for multiple staff members to share information to prevent mistakes arising from erroneous assumptions," said Tsuyoshi Habuta, who supervises baggage operations at CKTS. Upon an aircraft's arrival, if the number of unloaded items differs from the number counted on loading, his staff immediately inspects the cargo hold on the aircraft, the parking apron around it and the sorting room. The manual specifying baggage handling processes describes rules specific to each airline and provides information on where baggage is stowed in various aircraft, among other things. The manual was written based mainly on previous experience at Osaka International Airport, according to Akinori Kido, a CKTS manager who has been involved in Kansai Airport's baggage operations since its opening. CKTS updates the manual regularly to incorporate staff suggestions. Thus, a few years ago, it tightened the process for small- and medium-size aircraft that don't put bags in containers, and staffers are now required to check the number of items when unloading such aircraft. To save passengers from stress, CKTS has a goal of getting bags to the baggage claim area within 15 minutes after an aircraft arrives. Staffers place suitcases on conveyor belts so their handles will face toward passengers, easily picked up. They hand over damage-prone items like musical instruments, strollers and skis directly to passengers. Their careful treatment of baggage extends to things like wiping suitcases dry if they get wet in the rain. The quality of the company's service has won it repeated international recognition. In the World Airport Awards 2024 from the U.K. aviation research company Skytrax, Kansai Airport was named the world's best airport for baggage delivery, in recognition of its efficiency and speed in getting luggage to passengers, among other criteria. The airport has now received the award eight times. But the challenge will grow higher as passenger numbers increase. Expo 2025 is expected to draw 3.5 million overseas visitors to Osaka from next April to October, and Kansai Airport will see an estimated 37.33 million passengers in fiscal 2025, increasing from 13.99 million in 2023. "We hope to keep the zero-lost baggage record and make it a lively airport," Habuta said. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/Zero-luggage-lost-Japan-s-Kansai-Airport-keeps-30-year-record-going Air China signs deal to buy 100 C919 aircraft for $11b Air China announced on Friday night to purchase 100 C919 aircraft from Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), the plane manufacturer. According to COMAC's latest price catalogue, this order will cost Air China about $10.8 billion, which includes the prices for aircraft's fuselage, additional components and engines. The new jetliners, which are scheduled to be delivered from 2024 to 2031 in batches, will increase Air China's capacity by 7.5 percent, according to the airlines' announcement. China Eastern Airlines inked a deal with COMAC in late September to purchase an additional 100 C919 aircraft. In 2021, China Eastern became the first global customer of the homegrown passenger aircraft C919 by purchased five such jetliners. It received all the five planes in early March. China Eastern's latest C919 order seemed cheaper than that of Air China, as the former only paid $9.9 billion for the same number of planes. But it should be noted that Air China has purchased the extended-range models, which is different from the basic models purchased by China Eastern. But the 100 C919 aircraft ordered by China Eastern will also be delivered between 2024 and 2031, the same period as that for Air China. COMAC has been receiving increasing orders for C919 planes. In late April 2023, HNA Aviation Group signed a framework agreement with COMAC, saying that Urumqi Air and Suparna Airlines, two HNA's subsidiaries, will purchase 30 C919 planes respectively. Suparna Airlines will receive its first C919 plane in the fourth quarter this year, making it the world's first private carrier to fly C919. The rest C919 jetliners will be delivered to Suparna by the end of 2027. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202404/29/WS662f39eda31082fc043c4a38.html 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