In the famous so called race to the bottom in the airline industry, some are looking for a cost reduction race, while others, more concerned with flight safety, are worried for good reason. The latest masterpiece from airlines and legislators, not from people who know what goes on in the cockpit, is the move for single pilot operation. To cut cost. Consequently IFALPA (International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Association), ECA (European Cockpit Association) and ALPA (Air Line Pilot Association), representing more than a quarter of a million pilots, finds the proposal waste basket material ..read more

In the US a proposal to raise pilot mandatory retirement from 65 to 67 (eat that, France) is aimed at reducing the pilot shortage that today is causing 324 airports to loose 1/3 of its traffic and 14 airports to loose air service altogether, and causing 400 airplanes to be grounded. 5000 pilots are expected to retire within the next two years and this reform would in one move mitigate to pilot shortage, especially among captains. ALPA (AirLine Pilots Association) opposes the proposal and notes that pilots in question would be limited to US operations, since the rest of the world has a 65 year ..read more

Passengers come in many categories. For instance, with or without flight anxiety, where the latter is in minority. Then there are some, today probably in majority, from both those categories, looking for the cheapest possible fare, with no concern for flight safety, assuming everything you can fly with is just as safe. That’s a reasonable assumption, considering the fact that there are (almost) never any airline disasters. It’s also reasonable to say that there are almost never an accident, there being 100.000 (pre-pandemic) flights per day, and less than one accident in every 3-month period ..read more

The only time in the history of mankind where progress stopped dead in its tracks, for decades, is when the last Concorde made its last flight 24 Oct. 2003. Until now. The Concorde was never a commercial success, mainly because of extreme fuel consumption, forcing the few airlines using the plane to charge higher and higher ticket prices. The sonic boom was another problem. New design is in the process of addressing those problems. The sonic boom will be reduced and possibly allowing supersonic speed over land. Boom Supersonic, a Colorado start-up, have advanced plans to build a long and narr ..read more

Wiss Air fick nyligen behov av att omplacera sin flygchef, sedan han ertappats (inspelat) med att säga att man måste ha en lista på alla piloter som ofta sjukskrev sig eller ställde till annat elände. Dessa kunde man säga upp eftersom det inte hade någon reglerad anställningsform, till förmån för piloter från bemanningsbolag, som enligt flygchefen var så mycket lättare att hantera – och så alldeles väldigt mycket billigare. Det elände flygchefen inte uppskattade var kostnader. En inställd flygning p.g.a. tekniska fel på planet kostar. Likaså extra bränslereserver vid dåligt väder. En pilot so ..read more

Boeing is struggling somewhat with its comeback, with some electrical problems with the MAX (not in any way related to previous grave problems causing the grounding), some rivet issues with the 777 and some fuselage snags on the 787. Meanwhile FAA has been forced to cancel some delegated manufacturing safety standard supervision granted to Boeing, which should by all means be a good move, provided people at at FAA know what they are talking about, which is not necessary always the case when it comes to government agencies. In the midst of all this, Boeing can rejoice when looking at new orders ..read more

Just as the crisis surrounding the 737 MAX is about to subside, Boeings wide-body Dreamliner is causing new headache. There are manufacturing glitches dating back years, the litium battery havoc not included, since it was more a choice of system. Areas of concern have been found where the airframe parts are joined together. ”Two distinct manufacturing issues in the join of certain 787 aft body fuselage sections, which, in combination, result in a condition that doesn’t meet our design standards”. Boeing grounded 8 planes for starters. In October tiny marks were found in the inner lining where ..read more

When in a fix, fix it. In Boeings annus horribilis (unfortunately not just one) one major problem is about to be solved. The MCAS software, which caused the mayhem, is fixed, and the plane is again flying. For those who wish to channel their fear-of-flying to one specific aircraft, to make all other aircraft seem safer, this information is of no value. For those who wish to feel good about the most scrutinized plane in history, this is in short what has been done to the software that was so utterly half-assed. Flight control system will now compare inputs from both AOA sensors. If the sensors ..read more

The fact that the host aircraft was a Boeing 777, may cause ignorant observers to believe that Boeing again has a safety issue. The engine blow-up for Uniteds flight from Denver To Honolulu has been presented in vivid visual on social media. Informed observers realize that American engine manufacturer Pratt&Whitney has a trademark stain. Then again, when a fan-blade fails it has other implications. The focus of this blog has for some time centered on the relationship between money and flight safety. The grounding of some hundred aircraft equipped with similar P&W engines tells a story ..read more

The accident mentioned in latest article, the Sriwijaya Air plane that crashed last month killing 62 people, has been explained in a preliminary report. To any regular airline pilot the explanation should be confusing. The auto-throttle systen has allegedly reduced power on the left engine while keeping normal thrust on the right. After climbing another some 3000 ft (from 8.150 to 10.900) with the autopilot engaged, it disengaged. It had obviously co-operated long enough, trimming away the unbalance until it could take no more. When disengaging, it caused – not surprisingly – a bank to the lef ..read more