Hide/Show Archive Navigation.

All News

July 16, 2020

F/O, Captain Actions, Av-Industry Practices, Led to Fatal Atlas Air Crash

Cites First Officer’s Inappropriate Response To An Inadvertent Activation Of The Airplane’S Go-Around Mode

The NTSB has determined during a public board meeting held this week that Atlas Air flight 3591 crashed in Trinity Bay, Texas, because of the first officer’s inappropriate response to an inadvertent activation of the airplane’s go-around mode, resulting in his spatial disorientation that led him to place the airplane in a steep descent from which the crew did not recover. The accident happened Feb. 23, 2019, when the Atlas Air Boeing 767 cargo jet entered a rapid descent from about 6,000 feet and impacted a marshy bay about 40 miles from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The captain, first officer a

Blames Increased Coronavirus Infections For Continuing Air Travel Declines

Once believing that air travel activity would mostly recover before the end of CARES Act funding ran out, American Airlines has changed its tune, and says it no longer feels that to be so. As a result, it has notified some 25,000 employees of the potential for furloughs. CARES Act money has kept much of the airline industry somewhat solvent to this point, but the gravy train couldn't last forever, and American Airlines seems to be firing a shot across the bow in order to both warn its staffers, as well as to lobby Washington for more recovery dollars to prevent the specter of more layoffs.

Recent Bad News For Pakistani Aviation Intensifies

The FAA has assigned Pakistan a Category 2 rating because it does not comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards under the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program. Under IASA, the FAA assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that have applied to fly to the United States, currently conduct operations to the United States, or participate in code-sharing arrangements with U.S. partner airlines. The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority provides aviation safety oversight for Pakistan.

AD 2020-14-09 GEnx-1B Model Turbofan Engines Experienced Temporary Thrust Anomalies

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 737-8 and 737-9 (737 MAX) airplanes. This AD requires removing Kathon FP 1.5 biocide from the fuel tanks and engines, installing a fuel limitation placard, and revising the existing airplane flight manual (AFM) to prohibit operation of the airplane with Kathon FP 1.5 biocide in a fuel tank or engine. This AD was prompted by a report indicating that Kathon FP 1.5 biocide added to fuel and running through the engines can lead to significant engine anomalies. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. This AD is effective July 15, 2020.