Boeing 737 MAX wiring poses potential threat: report

With the Boeing 737 MAX groundings continuing for almost a full year now, regulators are scrutinizing and looking at every aspect of the jet, making sure the-once hailed “game changer” aircraft is as safe as possible. After an internal audit, requested by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in December 2019, a new, potentially deadly flaw was discovered with the MAX’s wiring systems that control the tail of the jet, reports The New York Times.

The hazard, discovered when the company was looking at its previous assessment about the flight crew’s reaction time to an emergency, is related to the wires that help the pilots control the horizontal stabilizer, which moves the plane’s nose either up or down. It is the same area that the infamous Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) can also control.

The wire bundles, which are placed close together, could potentially cause a short circuit, sending the motor that controls the horizontal stabilizer haywire, repeating the same circumstances under which both Lion Air JT610 and Ethiopian Airlines ET302 crashed. Boeing is still determining how likely the electrical short circuit could occur during a flight before making any changes. The interim Chief Executive Officer of the company Greg Smith noted in an internal conference call that changes to the wiring would only be made if they were “comprehensive.”

If the changes were made, all produced MAX jets would have to be rewired. However, the process would not be too time-consuming and would only take between one and two hours per aircraft to eliminate the potential hazard, the article indicates.

Making progress

Nevertheless, the manufacturer is making progress to get the plane off the ground. European regulators plan to fly to Seattle (Washington, United States), to test the aircraft’s new software in a simulator, while government officials expect certification test flights to take place as soon as this month, according to people close to the matter.

If the 737 MAX were to pass these certification flights, showcasing that the aircraft meets all the safety requirements, Boeing could finally see the light at the end of the MAX crisis’ tunnel – the crisis that led to the ousting of the company’s previous CEO Dennis Muilenburg and has cost the company at least $5.6 billion.

Multiple lawsuits and the continuing grounding, including the stoppage of production of the jet, will, in theory, increase the $5.6 billion bill related to the 737 MAX. The Chicago-based offices are set to release its Q4 2019 financial update on January 29, 2020, providing the latest update about the financial state of the company.

Chinese Airline Passenger Ordered To Pay For Flight Delay

The South China Morning Post reports that the ruling against the passenger was handed down by a court in July, but was just recently made public. Lu Chao was a first-time flyer who tossed a few coins at one of the engines of the airplane he was boarding on February 17. But the flight was cancelled when maintenance workers found two one Yuan coins on the ground near the engine. All of the passengers were taken off the plane while it underwent safety inspections.

Lu admitted tossing the coins, and he was arrested and detained for 10 days on a charge of disturbing public order. Lucky Air filed a civil lawsuit against Lu in May, demanding compensation for losses stemming from the incident. Lu was represented by his brother in court, who argued that Lu had no way to repay the airline, and it was at least partly responsible for not announcing that passengers should not throw coins at planes.

The court showed some consideration for Lu's financial situation. It determined that he should compensate the airline in full, but cut the court costs in half to 459 yuan, or about $63.

The compensation to the airline was set at 123,000 yuan, or about $17,600.

can aircrafts overtake each other in the air? well it just happened

BIZ JET RISING

Light Jets, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 8.3 percent. The shifting dynamics supporting this growth makes it critical for businesses in this space to keep abreast of the changing pulse of the market. Poised to reach over $11 billion by the year 2025, Light Jets will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth.

Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 5.5 percent growth momentum.

Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over $561.7 million to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over $1.5 billion worth of projected demand in the region will come from other emerging Eastern European markets.

In Japan, Light Jets will reach a market size of $352.1 million by the close of the analysis period. As the world's second largest economy and the new game changer in global markets, China exhibits the potential to grow at 10.1 percent over the next couple of years and adds approximately $4.5 billion in terms of addressable opportunity for the picking by aspiring businesses and their astute leaders.

All research viewpoints presented are based on validated engagements from influencers in the market, whose opinions supersede all other research methodologies.

Competitors identified in this market include the following, among others:

• Bombardier, Inc. (Canada)
• Dassault Aviation SA (France)
• Embraer SA (Brazil)
• Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (USA)
• Textron Aviation - Cessna (USA)

(Source: Research and Markets news release. Image from file)

UNMANNED

                      This will be the fourth-generation electrical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) by the German Urban Air Mobility developer. The VoloCity has been designed to meet the safety standards specified by EASA (SC-VTOL category enhanced). With a calculated range of 18 nautical miles and airspeed of 60 knots, the VoloCity is designed to serve as an on-demand inner-city air taxi. Over 1,000 test flights on previous Volocopter generations and market research with several hundred potential customers have informed the design and technical specifications of the VoloCity.     

The U.S. Department of Defense will roll out a "trusted capital" program this fall aimed at bolstering the domestic industrial base for small unmanned aircraft, said Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. One effort afoot is to strengthen the defense industrial base in areas including rare earths and small UAS, both areas where "China has flooded our market, to the point where we do not have a resilient and secure industrial base...," she said. Bell has announced the successful first autonomous flight of the Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) 70 at their testing site near Fort Worth. Bell plans to  continue to test the vehicle under an experimental type certificate throughout the remainder of the year. APT 70 is part of the eVTOL family of vehicles Bell is developing and can reach speeds of more than 100mph and has a baseline payload capability of 70 lbs. 
      
     Bell’s APT systems allow for flexible mission capabilities while keeping operations simple, efficient and fast; they are capable of twice the speed and range of a conventional multirotor. The vehicle is designed for rapid deployment, quick reconfiguration, and nimble battery swap and recharge. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne-Unmanned!!!

Take-off for deal: Slattery to head up Embraer-Boeing joint venture

Clare man John Slattery has been named the president and chief executive of the $5.25bn commercial aviation and services joint venture between Boeing and Brazilian jet-maker Embraer.

Mr Slattery is CEO of Embraer's commercial division, a role he has held since 2016, having joined the group in 2011.

Boeing and Embraer announced the planned joint venture last year, and Mr Slattery said he hopes all regulatory approvals will be secured by the end of the year. Boeing will have an 80pc stake in the joint venture.

Embraer's new series of E2 regional jets deliver significant fuel savings as well as strong reliability. The E190-E2 is already in service, while the E195-E2 is on track to be certified in the first half of this year. The tie-up with Boeing is expected to significantly expand the E2 family selling opportunity for Embraer. Embraer's commercial division had an order backlog valued at $9.7bn at the end of 2018.

"I believe that as a direct result of this transaction, there will be a meaningful increase after the transaction closes in sales of the E-jets around the world," he said. "I think it's going to be great for the customers."

Ethiopian Airlines: Boeing 737 crashes on way to Kenya

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 passenger jet has crashed on a flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi in Kenya.

The flight is believed to have had 149 passengers and eight crew members on board, the airline says.

A spokesman said the crash happened at 08.44 local time on Sunday, shortly after take-off from the Ethiopian capital.

First word of the crash came when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed his “deepest condolences” on Twitter.

In a statement, the airline said that search and rescue operations were under way near the crash site around the town of Bishoftu, which is 60km (37 miles) south-east of the capital.

It did not provide details on the number of casualties. It is not clear what caused the crash.

“Ethiopian Airlines staff will be sent to the accident scene and will do everything possible to assist the emergency services,” the statement added.

Boeing, the company that built the aeroplane, said in a tweet that it was “closely monitoring the situation”.

Its 737 Max-8 aircraft is relatively new to the skies, having been launched in 2016. It was added to the Ethiopian Airlines fleet late last year.

Another plane of the same model was involved in a crash five months ago, when a Lion Air flight crashed into the sea near Indonesia with nearly 190 people on board.

Ethiopian Airlines flies to many destinations in Africa, making it a popular carrier in a continent where many airlines fly only from their home country to destinations outside Africa.

It has a good reputation for safety, although in 2010 one of the company’s aeroplanes crashed in the Mediterranean Sea shortly after leaving Beirut.

The incident killed 90 people on board.

The airline’s highest fatalities to date came in a November 1996 crash during a hijacking on a flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.

One of the aeroplane’s engines stopped when the fuel ran out and although pilots attempted an emergency water landing, they hit a coral reef in the Indian Ocean and 123 of the 175 people on board were killed.