Flight Safety Information - March 13, 2025 No. 052

A United Boeing 787-10, registration N12003 performing flight UA-881 from Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA) to Tokyo Haneda (Japan), was enroute at FL340 about 220nm north of Winnipeg,MB (Canada) when the crew decided to divert to Minneapolis,MN (USA) reporting a fuel leak. The aircraft landed safely in Minneapolis about 90 minutes later.

The remainder of the flight and the return flight were cancelled.

https://avherald.com/h?article=525262e4&opt=0

Accident: TAP A21N near Porto on Mar 11th 2025, smoke on board

A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A321-200N, registration CS-TJQ performing flight TP-1356 from Lisbon (Portugal) to London Heathrow,EN (UK) with 194 people on board, was enroute at FL360 about 150nm westnorthwest of Porto (Portugal) in Spanish Airspace when the crew decided to divert to Porto reporting smoke on board. The aircraft landed on Porto's runway 35 about 40 minutes later. 9 occupants were taken to local hospitals with smoke inhalations.

The airline reported the crew declared emergency due to a technical issue.

A replacement Airbus A321-200 registration CS-TJH reached London with a delay of about 5.5 hours.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Porto about 25 hours after landing.

https://avherald.com/h?article=525260fc&opt=0

Incident: Astana A20N at Aktau on Mar 8th 2025, engine shut down in flight

An Air Astana Airbus A320-200N, registration EI-KBM performing flight KC-858 from Aktau to Almaty (Kazakhstan), was climbing out of Aktau's runway 29 when the crew stopped the climb at about FL210 following an engine oil indication and shut down of the left hand engine (PW1127G). The aircraft returned to Aktau for a safe landing on runway 29 about 40 minutes after departure.

A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration EI-KBO reached Almaty with a delay of about 10 hours.

The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 54 hours after landing.

The airline reported the crew received a technical warning about a low oil level in engine #1 and shut the engine down. The aircraft returned to Aktau, the passengers were transferred onto another aircraft.

https://avherald.com/h?article=52525513&opt=0

Honeywell Teams with ITPS On Test Pilot Flight Training

Two Honeywell Aerospace students will begin the 18-month course this fall.

Dave Lohse (right), chief executive officer at the International Test Pilot School (ITPS), signed an agreement with Bill Lee, senior director of Flight Test Operations at Honeywell Aerospace, to establish a new test pilot training program. Credit: ITPS

Honeywell is pairing with the International Test Pilot School (ITPS) in London, Ontario, Canada, to introduce a flight test program targeted at improving the way professional test pilots are trained. The Honeywell Aerospace Flight Test Team will be the launch customer for ITPS’s Hybrid Industry Training Solutions program.

The first two Honeywell candidates will enroll in the inaugural course this fall. The entire program consists of an 18-month curriculum.

Dave Lohse, ITPS CEO, said, “ITPS is committed to delivering innovative training solutions that balance industry demands with professional development. The Hybrid Industry Training Solutions program delivers high-quality training while minimizing disruptions to our customers’ critical flight test operations.”

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/canadian-flight-training-specialist-links-up-with-honeywell/

Aviation safety isn’t just about pilot skill — it also comes down to corporate decision-making

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Air travel is statistically one of the safest modes of transporation. But a series of recent airline accidents has rattled the industry and the public — leading to a surge in Google searches for “is flying safe” in recent weeks.

The number of fatal airline accidents jumped from just one in 2023 to at least seven in 2024 — drawing renewed attention to aviation safety. We’re only a few months into 2025 and multiple fatal aviation incidents have already occurred worldwide. This has only reinforced concerns about ongoing safety challenges.

These incidents have revealed how ongoing safety violations, infrastructure oversight failures, shortcomings in pilot training and corporate decision-making issues can have deadly consequences.

Although airline safety has actually improved over the past few decades, these recent events are a stark reminder that constant vigilance is key.

Governance failures

Aviation safety is not just about technology or pilot skill — it’s also about corporate decision-making, oversight and leadership. What happens in the boardroom can influence what happens in the cockpit.

In our own study, which used data from 70 countries collected between 1990 and 2016, we found a link between the stability of an airline’s executive board and airline safety outcomes.

How The Conversation is different: We explain without oversimplifying.

Our study found that airlines with weak governance, high executive turnover and overextended directors tend to have more accidents. In contrast, airlines with stable, experienced leadership saw fewer.

Many of last year’s aviation accidents can be attributed to such organizational failures.

For example, in Nepal, a catastrophic passenger plane crash that killed 18 people was attributed to the airline ignoring cargo weight limits and speed guidelines.

In Brazil, the deadly crash of a passenger airplane en route to São Paulo was caused by the pilots underestimating severe icing conditions. The pilots’ actions indicate possible training gaps.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, the Jeju Air crash in December 2024 that killed nearly 200 passengers was attributed to the airline rushing an emergency landing under unsafe conditions. This exposed flaws in risk assessment.

Poor airline governance can also pave the way for financial distress, which is another factor linked to increased risk of accidents. In our cross-country study, pilot errors and mechanical failures accounted for about 75 per cent of airplane accidents — underscoring how board decisions around training, maintenance and resource allocation directly influence safety outcomes.

When airlines face financial strain, they may delay maintenance, reduce crew training or push tighter schedules — all of which erode safety over time.

The 2009 Colgan Air crash in Buffalo and the 2013 Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco were both tied to pilot fatigue and inadequate training. Both of these issues are directly influenced by airline policies. In fact, one study found that fatigue and scheduling pressures can significantly increase accident likelihood when airlines fail to set and enforce effective rest and training standards.

Oversight failures

Regulators also play a key role in preventing aviation disasters. But when oversight weakens or regulators become too lenient, safety can suffer.

The Boeing 737 MAX crisis that occurred between 2018 and 2019 is a prime example.

Two fatal Boeing crashes — which killed 346 people in total — were traced to design flaws that regulators failed to catch. Boeing was under intense pressure to compete with Airbus and downplayed safety risks. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also relied too heavily on Boeing’s own safety assessments.

Last year, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 brought Boeing back into the spotlight. A mid-air panel blowout on a 737-9 MAX forced an emergency landing, leading to the FAA grounding the entire MAX 9 fleet. Investigators found several fastener bolts missing from the aircraft’s mid-cabin door plug, raising concerns about quality control failures in Boeing’s production process.

An airplane, with seats tilting towards a gaping hole where a door should have been.

The Boeing 737-9 Max’s door plug blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight. (AP/National Transportation Safety Board)

Regulatory failures can also extend to airport safety and air traffic control. The Haneda Airport runway collision in Japan in early 2024 exposed complacency in ground safety procedures. Similar unaddressed runway safety issues were also a factor in the South Korea’s Jeju Air crash.

Lessons for safer skies

No system is perfect, but there are many proactive steps industry leaders and regulators can take to minimize future risks, including:

Strengthening board oversight: Airlines should ensure credible aviation safety expertise is present in top leadership roles. This ensures that critical safety considerations reach the highest levels of decision-making, rather than being siloed within lower management tiers. Additionally, forming dedicated safety committees can promote ongoing oversight and proactive discussions around potential risks.
Prioritize stable leadership: Frequent executive turnover can lead to inconsistent safety policies. Strong leadership fosters a long-term culture of safety.
Improve pilot training: Airlines must invest in advanced simulator programs and continuous training to ensure crews are prepared for unexpected scenarios.
Targeted oversight for high-risk carriers: Regulators should conduct stricter inspections on airlines showing financial distress or repeated safety violations.
Encourage transparency: A non-punitive safety reporting system would allow pilots, engineers and ground crew to flag risks before they escalate.
Flying remains extraordinarily safe — and is statistically safer than driving. Between 2000 and 2022 in the U.S., 885,250 people were killed in passenger-vehicle accidents — compared with 12,644 fatalities in aviation.

But trust in air travel is built on more than just statistics. The public expects airlines and regulators to take proactive steps to prevent avoidable disasters. Every crash investigation has uncovered lessons that, when they’ve been implemented, can make flying even safer. The challenge is ensuring those lessons lead to lasting reforms — not just temporary fixes.

The public can also play a role in holding industry leaders accountable. They can do this by demanding transparency, supporting safety-focused policies and questioning whether cost-cutting is coming at the expense of safety.

Safety improvements shouldn’t have to come about only as a result of tragedy. It’s time for the industry to start taking proactive changes now to improve aviation safety and prevent tragedies in the future.

https://theconversation.com/aviation-safety-isnt-just-about-pilot-skill-it-also-comes-down-to-corporate-decision-making-234345

TSA Intercepts a Revolver at Pittsburgh International Airport

A West Virginia man was arrested by police after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) intercepted a gun at the security checkpoint on Wednesday, March 5. The unloaded .32 caliber firearm was among the carry-on items belonging to the traveler, a resident of Morgantown, W.Va.

“Our officers continue to prevent individuals from carrying guns onto their flights,” said Gerardo Spero, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Pennsylvania. “Yesterday they detected an old pistol in a traveler’s carry-on bag. It marked the 10th firearm that has been intercepted at one of the two airport checkpoints. At this pace, the number of guns caught could set an annual record. It’s not the type of record we want to set. We would much prefer that fewer individuals bringing guns to the checkpoints.”

TSA has details on the proper way to pack firearms and ammunition on its web site here. It outlines the need to pack an unloaded gun in a locked hard-sided case and then taking it to the airline check-in counter to be transported in the belly of the aircraft so that nobody has access to it during the fight.

When TSA officers caught the gun, they notified the police, who came to the checkpoint, confiscated the weapon and arrested the man.

https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/transportation/tsa-intercepts-a-revolver-at-pittsburgh-international-airport/

Passenger Swallows Rosary Beads on Chaotic Flight to Miami

The man also kicked a flight attendant, an arrest affidavit said. He and his sister said they were traveling to Haiti to escape “religious attacks of a spiritual nature.”

The unruly passenger was on a flight from Savannah, Ga., to Miami on Monday night.

A satanic disciple had stowed away on a flight to Florida, as one passenger saw it, and something had to be done.

Less than a minute after an American Airlines flight took off from Savannah, Ga., for Miami on Monday night, a passenger began yelling and shaking. Flight attendants initially thought he was having a seizure.

But it turned out he was struggling because he believed a demonic spirit had invaded the cabin — and, at some point during the flight, began swallowing rosary beads to ward that spirit off.

As attendants approached the man, Delange Augustin, 31, he kicked one of them in the chest so hard that the attendant tumbled across the aisle and into a window on the other side of the plane, according to an arrest affidavit.

That’s when the cabin crew realized that Mr. Augustin, who was traveling with his sister, was not having a medical emergency. “Augustin’s choices appeared purposeful, though difficult to describe,” Savannah Solomon, a special agent with the F.B.I., wrote in the affidavit filed in the United States District Court in Chatham County.

The pilots turned the plane around when they heard the commotion and landed it safely in Savannah. But that was not the end of the episode.

Disembarkation from the jet spiraled into chaos when Mr. Augustin stormed to the front of the plane and threw several wild punches at a flight attendant before the door had been opened, the affidavit said. Several passengers helped to wrestle him and his sister to the ground.

Then the authorities learned that Mr. Augustin had swallowed the rosary beads. So he was taken to a hospital, where he was evaluated and discharged to a county detention center. His medical condition was not immediately clear as of Tuesday night.

In the detention center, Mr. Augustin’s sister told the authorities that they had been traveling to Haiti to “flee religious attacks of a spiritual nature,” according to the affidavit.

Mr. Augustin had told his sister “to close her eyes and pray because Satan’s disciple(s) had followed them onto the plane and the legion did not want the Augustins to make it to Haiti,” it said. He swallowed the rosary beads “because they are a weapon of strength in the spiritual warfare,” Mr. Augustin’s sister told Ms. Solomon.

Only about eight passengers were on the plane, the affidavit said. No one was seriously injured.

“We appreciate the professionalism of the entire crew and thank our passengers for their understanding,” American Airlines said in a statement on Tuesday night.

Envoy Air, which operated the flight, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Mr. Augustin was booked into jail on a misdemeanor battery charge, a misdemeanor obstruction of law enforcement charge and a felony count of criminal property damage, according to the jail’s records. Ms. Solomon said in her affidavit that there was also probable cause to arrest him for interfering with the flight crew.

No lawyer for Mr. Augustin was listed in court records. His place of residence was not immediately clear.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/us/american-airlines-passenger-rosary-beads.html

Texas man arrested by FBI, charged with assault on American Airlines flight to DC

A Texas man who federal officials said attacked multiple passengers, injuring one, and also threatened and injured a flight attendant on a flight from Kansas to Washington D.C. is facing felony charges in connection to the incident.

According to an American Airlines spokesperson, on March 5, law enforcement responded to American Eagle flight 5574 after its arrival at Ronald Regan National Airport due to "a disruptive customer."

According to the online site Flight Aware, which tracks flight paths, the plane departed Wichita at 5:10 p.m. and landed in D.C. at 8:54 p.m.

American Airlines jets swap places at Miami International Airport.

According to a court affidavit obtained by CBS News and ABC News, passenger Asterius Rulamka got up right before the flight was landing, approached a flight attendant and threatened him.

“Several passengers, observing the threatening behavior, started filming on their cellular phones,” the affidavit read. Rulamka allegedly then attacked a passenger filming him, "grabbing his arms and verbally berating him." The suspect also took off the passenger's hat and glasses and struck him "in the face near his left eye, causing bruising and a bloodshot eye."

Rulamka also allegedly attempted to hit the flight attendant he previously threatened, the outlets reported, but the attendant was able to move before being hit and suffered a "small laceration to his finger and a broken fingernail."

Rulamka also allegedly said he wanted to speak with President Donald Trump during an FBI interview after the flight landed, the outlets reported.

The defendant was charged with "assault by beating, striking and wounding," the outlets reported, adding he is due in court on Thursday.

It was not immediately known whether he had obtained an attorney in the case.

On Tuesday, the FBI told USA TODAY it could not comment on the case due to the ongoing investigation.

"We do not tolerate violence, and thank our team members for their professionalism," an American Airlines spokesperson told USA TODAY.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2025/03/11/asterius-rulamka-american-airlines-flight/82260209007/

Rules for Portable Batteries on Planes Are Changing. Here’s What to Know.

Some airlines in Asia are tightening restrictions. You may have to repack or turn off your batteries before boarding flights with certain carriers.

Airlines in South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand have tightened restrictions on portable batteries on flights.

The rules around flying with portable batteries are becoming increasingly confusing as some airlines in Asia change their policies, citing the risk of fires.

Airlines in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore have tightened restrictions since a fire destroyed an Air Busan plane on the tarmac in South Korea in January, one of several recent aviation accidents that have made travelers anxious.

There is no definitive link between portable batteries and the Air Busan fire, and an investigation is underway. But because rules vary across airlines, you may find yourself having to repack or turn off such batteries when you board a plane. Here’s what you need to know.

Which airlines have changed their rules and why?

As of March 1, passengers on all South Korean airlines must keep their portable chargers within arm’s reach and out of overhead bins. The government implemented the rule to ease anxiety about the risk of battery fires, the Transportation Ministry said.

Some Taiwanese airlines implemented similar changes that also took effect on March 1. EVA Air and China Airlines announced a ban on using or charging power banks on their planes, although the batteries can still be stored in overhead compartments.

Thai Airways, Thailand’s flagship airline, then said that it would implement a similar ban on using and charging power banks, citing “incidents of in-flight fires on international airlines, suspected to be linked to power bank usage.” The latest to follow were Singapore Airlines and its budget subsidiary, Scoot, which announced their own ban on Wednesday.

Since 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations agency that coordinates global aviation regulations, has banned lithium-ion batteries, the kind commonly found in power banks, from the cargo holds of passenger planes.

But there is no industry standard on how airlines regulate power banks, said Mitchell Fox, the director of the Asia Pacific Center for Aviation Safety.

They have become a part of everyday life only in recent years, and some consumers may be unaware of the risks, he said. “When you have an emerging issue, it takes a while for everyone to catch on.”

Times travel coverage. When our writers review a destination, they do not accept free or discounted services or, in most cases, reveal that they work for The Times. We want their experience to be what you can expect.

Here’s more on our standards and practices.

What are the risks behind these batteries?

Lithium-ion batteries have been used for decades to power smartphones and laptops, and are commonly used in portable power banks.

Each lithium-ion battery has a cell that can heat up quickly in a chain reaction that causes it to catch fire or explode. The Federal Aviation Administration warns that this reaction can happen if the battery is damaged, overcharged, overheated or exposed to water. It can also happen if the battery has a manufacturing defect.

Some products that use lithium-ion batteries, including smartphones, laptops and electric vehicles, have strict regulations and quality control standards, said Neeraj Sharma, a professor of chemistry at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, who studies batteries. Others, like power banks, e-cigarettes and vehicles such as e-bikes and scooters, are less regulated, he said, raising the risk of malfunction.

“Make sure you get your devices from reputable manufacturers,” Professor Sharma said.

How often do batteries catch fire on planes?

Incidents involving lithium-ion batteries on U.S. airlines have been increasing. There were 84 last year, up from 32 in 2016. These included cases — in the cabins of both passenger and cargo planes — where batteries caught fire, emitted smoke or overheated. Portable chargers were the biggest culprit in these incidents, followed by e-cigarettes, according to the F.A.A.

Airlines around the world require passengers to pack spare lithium-ion batteries in their carry-on luggage instead of in their checked bags so that any smoke or fire from the batteries can be noticed quickly. In the cargo hold, a fire may not be detected by a plane’s automatic fire-extinguishing system until it has already become a critical problem.

“If there is a fire, you’d rather have it in cabin than checked baggage, and you’d rather have it closer to a person rather than in the overhead bin, where it’s more difficult to get it out and manage the fire,” said Keith Tonkin, the managing director of Aviation Projects, an aviation consulting company in Brisbane, Australia.

What do flight crews do when there is a fire?

Fires in plane cabins that are caused by lithium-ion batteries are rarely deadly, and flight crews are generally well prepared to deal with them, Mr. Tonkin said.

In many cases, passengers will notice their electronics overheating and inform crew members, who will put the device into a thermal containment bag or into water, with little disruption to the flight, according to the F.A.A. In some cases, flight attendants or passengers will notice smoke in the cabin and discover that a device has overheated or caught fire.

In 2024, two portable batteries that were connected to each other caused a fire aboard a flight from Bangkok to Seoul operated by Eastar Jet, a budget South Korean carrier, according to Yonhap, a South Korean news agency. The flight crew noticed the smoke and immediately poured water on the batteries to douse the fire, the agency reported.

https://www.nytimes.com/article/portable-batteries-fires-planes.html

NTSB Issues Urgent Safety Recommendations to FAA for KDCA

Homendy calls situation leading to tragedy ‘stronger than an oversight’

The NTSB yesterday issued two urgent safety recommendations to the FAA regarding helicopter routes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA), citing a history of close calls voluntarily reported by pilots from 2011 to 2024. The recommendations come as the agency continues its investigation of the January 29 midair collision over the Potomac River involving a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 that killed all 67 aboard.

In light of the data it has examined so far, the NTSB is urgently recommending that the FAA permanently prohibit operations on helicopter Route 4 between Haynes Point and the Wilson Bridge when Runways 15 and 33 are used for departures and arrivals at KDCA, and that the FAA designate an alternative helicopter route that can be used to facilitate travel between Haynes Point and the Wilson Bridge when the segment of Route 4 is closed.

During a March 11 media briefing on the agency’s preliminary report for the accident, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said the collision could have been prevented and alluded to the unusual step the agency was taking to issue the recommendations while its investigation was ongoing.

“Urgent recommendations require immediate action to prevent similar accidents or incidents,” Homendy stressed. “When we issue them, we believe a critical safety issue must be addressed without delay. For this investigation, we’re reviewing airport operations and prior incidents, including near-midair collision events.”

Only including facts the NTSB has verified to date, the preliminary report highlights the need for further investigation into the Black Hawk’s recorder data inconsistencies and its possible impact on altimeter readings. The report also covers crew experience, flight history, air traffic control, and emergency response.

“We still have a lot of work to do in this area, as the Black Hawk’s combined cockpit voice and flight data recorder does not record date information, time information, or helicopter position information,” said Homendy. “There is inconsistency in the data, which led us to declare the pressure altitude parameter on the Black Hawk as invalid. We’re now in the process of determining whether that may have affected other helicopter systems that used pressure altitude as a data source, such as the altimeters.”

Between October 2021 and December 2024, Homendy said there were a total of 944,179 commercial operations at KDCA and 15,214 close-proximity events between helicopters and airplanes, with 85 incidents involving less than 1,500 feet lateral and 200 feet vertical separation. Homendy praised Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy for taking quick action to restrict helicopter traffic over the Potomac River until March 31. She also commended the FAA for its response to the event.

When asked if the NTSB is also reviewing the volume of commercial flights at KDCA and ATC staffing, Homendy said, “Everything is on the table right now, as far as our investigation is concerned, and we will look at that. We’re certainly going to look at separation distances between landing and departing aircraft as part of our investigation… Right now, we are collecting facts on air traffic control. In our preliminary report today, we will mention that there were five controllers on position. There were nine there, not in the cab, but in the tower… We also know that the flight data position and the clearance delivery positions were also combined for the entire day, which is not abnormal.”

Homendy said she would characterize the accident as the result of an oversight when asked. “I mean, it’s stronger than an oversight, right? We have the data we have pulled from a voluntary safety reporting system that the FAA could have used any time. That data [is] from October 2021 through December 2024—they could have used that information any time to determine that we have a trend here and a problem here and looked at that route. That didn’t occur, which is why we’re taking action today. But unfortunately, people lost lives, and loved ones are grieving.”

Homendy outlined several actions the NTSB will take as part of its ongoing investigation into the January 29 event. It will:

Conduct various simulations, including in the Black Hawk simulator, CRJ simulator, and ATC tower simulator, using the accident inputs and conditions.
Conduct a comprehensive visibility study for the CRJ flight, the Black Hawk flight, and tower visibility under night conditions.
Conduct additional interviews on helicopter operations and air traffic control.
Continue to examine the radio altimeters, barometric altimeters, and additional electronics.
Within hours after Homendy’s presentation, industry leaders and organizations, including the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), issued statements in support of the NTSB’s efforts. Also weighing in was U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), whose letter earlier this month questioned the Department of Defense about routine operations without ADS-B Out switched on.

“The NTSB report provides ample data that this helicopter route and the commercial aviation landing route never should have been allowed to coexist,” Cantwell wrote. “The data also raises serious questions as to how such a route was allowed to continue when alarm bells were literally going off. The lack of FAA oversight of this data and warning signals has to change. Congress should work in a bipartisan fashion on legislative solutions that mandate more FAA oversight of these helicopter routes. And we should work collectively with the White House to get full implementation of the NextGen platform to give aircraft and pilots true global positioning systems through ADS-B.”

In a joint statement, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Missouri) and ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Washington), as well as aviation subcommittee chairman Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and ranking member Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee), wrote, “While this is not the final report, we want to thank the NTSB for their tireless and thorough work on this investigation, their continued efforts on behalf of the families of the victims and the flying public, and the emergency safety recommendations they are issuing at this stage of their investigation. Our committee is reviewing the report and the recommendations, and we will continue to act in a bipartisan manner to strengthen the safety of our aviation system.”

ALPA president Jason Ambrosi wrote that the organization “pledges our full support to the continued investigation and to work with government and industry stakeholders to implement the NTSB safety recommendations, including the ones issued by the board today. We will continue to work diligently to advance aviation safety and honor the legacies of those lost by ensuring such tragedies are never repeated.”

The NTSB investigation is ongoing.

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2025-03-12/ntsb-issues-urgent-safety-recommendations-faa-kdca

How Faulty Parts at Boeing’s 787 Jets Flew Below the Radar in Italy

On a Saturday morning in May, 2020, Italian police officers caught two men pouring chemical waste into the sewers in the southern port city of Brindisi, near a small plane components factory.

Five years on, that routine pollution case has spiraled into a wide-ranging judicial investigation into how thousands of flawed titanium and aluminum parts manufactured in Italy ended up in nearly 500 Boeing 787 jets still in use.

The probe, due to be discussed at a preliminary hearing in Italy on Thursday, focuses on how tiny aero-part-maker Manufacturing Process Specification (MPS) allegedly defrauded clients by using cheaper and weaker metals to make floor fittings and other plane parts. Company executives deny the charge.

Italian Prosecutors Accuse 7 People, 2 Firms Over Flawed Boeing Plane Parts

Boeing has repeatedly said that there is no immediate safety risk. U.S. regulators, meanwhile, are preparing technical guidance for airlines to detect and replace any bad parts, without opting for the emergency orders reserved for the most pressing cases.

But the precarious chain of events that led detectives to the alleged scam, including the surprise pollution find, raises broader questions about the failure by the aerospace industry’s own voluntary audit system to detect sub-standard components.

Detectives were already investigating MPS’ owners over the bankruptcy of their previous firm. But after catching two MPS workers dumping polluting liquids next to the factory, police broadened their enquiries to the Brindisi firm’s raw material purchases, three investigative sources said.

With the help of whistleblowers, police found that MPS and its predecessor company had bought very small quantities of the prescribed metals required for 787 jets, including a tough titanium alloy, switching instead to cheaper and less resilient pure titanium, they said.

Prosecutors allege that for four years parts made with the wrong type of metal flowed into the aerospace supply chain via Italian group Leonardo, which builds two fuselage sections for the Boeing 787 at its nearby Grottaglie plant.

The case comes as Boeing tries to move beyond a separate safety and quality crisis that triggered financial and management upheaval and layoffs. The rest of the industry is also grappling with sporadic issues with rogue parts.

Despite using low-quality metals, the now defunct MPS passed audits by three different certification bodies or private auditors between 2017 and 2021, according to a Reuters review.

None of these audits involved a physical check of the floor fittings, which are structural components of a jet, the news agency found.

While news of the alleged metal switch at Boeing’s Italian subcontractor made international headlines in October 2021, details of MPS’ auditing process, as well as the number of weak floor fittings installed, have not been previously reported.

For its review, Reuters consulted confidential Italian police and prosecutors’ documents, judicial seizure decrees, copies of records from an aerospace supplier database and spoke to four people with direct knowledge of the investigation.

Half a dozen investigators, lawyers and certification experts told Reuters the case raises doubts about whether controls, including third-party audits, are robust enough to ensure below-grade parts do not end up in commercial jets.

“It is extremely worrying that there were no preventive checks on the type of material used to build these parts,” said Danilo Recine, vice-president of Italy’s ANPAC pilot union.

Inspections

The FAA has not grounded any 787 planes but issued a draft notice last year that, when finalized, will require airlines to inspect jets for flawed parts and replace them.

Its proposed notice potentially covers almost 500 jets but until the inspections are carried out it is impossible to know how many parts are on which jets, it said in the May 2024 draft.

The FAA declined to elaborate. It noted only that a period for collecting comments from airlines had ended.

Contacted by Reuters, Leonardo said in a statement that prosecutors are treating it as a victim in the case.

Boeing, which has also been granted the status of victim, declined comment on specifics of the case but said it had a “comprehensive quality management system,” which includes audits of suppliers.

“This complements additional audits by certification bodies, suppliers and others within the industry” it added.

MPS, and its predecessor Processi Speciali, used to make several plane parts for Leonardo, including the fittings connecting the beams supporting the Boeing 787 cabin floor to the fuselage. It also supplied other aerospace firms.

After performing material inspections on the components, investigators allege MPS manufactured 539 below-grade floors for Boeing that were supplied via Leonardo, according to a confidential document prepared by prosecutors.

The faulty floor fittings ended up in as many as 477 jets still in service, the document said, a handful more than the potential population of affected jets cited by the FAA.

In the event of an emergency landing, the lower-quality floor fittings could lead to a collapse of the jet’s floor, aerospace experts who tested the parts on behalf of prosecutors said in the document.

The FAA has raised a similar worst-case scenario, adding it would need multiple adjacent parts to fail simultaneously.

In their final report, Italian prosecutors accuse MPS’ head of quality, the company’s owner and three relatives of fraud and breach of airplane safety rules. Two other workers are accused of polluting soil and water.

“(They) have put flight security in danger by producing and delivering to Leonardo … structural aerospace parts made, not with contracted titanium alloy, but pure titanium – which has structural strength that is largely lower to that of the prescribed alloy,” the report says.

In total, prosecutors have said MPS or its predecessor supplied around 6,000 parts using the wrong kind of metal, although the vast majority are not structural components.

Francesca Conte, a lawyer for MPS’ owner, said the supplier had worked in partnership with Leonardo and obtained all necessary certifications. “If there were any anomalies, they would have been immediately evident.”

Conte and the lawyers for the other defendants said there was evidence to be presented during the trial that would prove their clients were not responsible for the alleged crimes.

Weak Checks

To become a Boeing or Airbus AIR.PA supplier, parts makers must be audited for their quality management systems under an aerospace chapter of the ISO global standards organization.

Those involved in certain special processes like welding or electro-plating also need a U.S.-based approval called NADCAP.

Industry records reviewed by Reuters show that MPS and its predecessor won approvals from three auditing bodies under the ISO-based aerospace standard for quality systems. The last certification was awarded in May 2021.

Leonardo said in an emailed statement it had learnt about issues with MPS components at the end of 2020 from Boeing.

Asked how it vetted contractors, Leonardo said that MPS first had to qualify to enter its and Boeing’s suppliers’ lists. The group said that it had also carried out subsequent checks of MPS using “documents made available by the supplier.”

The audits were conducted both independently and in joint teams with Boeing, the Italian company added.

“Any fraudulent behavior cannot be detected by these checks,” Leonardo said.

However, since last year, the company has begun doing extra tests on chemical and physical characteristics of “significant components,” it added.

The lack of spot physical checks baffled police, according to a source in the investigation.

“The problem of faulty parts was found out in 2020,” the source said. “If quality controls had worked, then it would not have been discovered so late.”

‘Need for a Regulatory Framework’

Under the voluntary oversight system for quality management, private auditors known as certification bodies check whether an aerospace firm has the right processes, machines and skilled workers to carry out its tasks to the correct standards.

Random physical tests are typically only included if a company needs a quality certificate for specific products.

But Christopher Paris, founder of consultancy Oxebridge Quality Resources, said the MPS case demonstrated the need for tougher oversight of the pyramid of controls, including not only the independent auditors but accreditation bodies that vet them.

“There is a need for a regulatory framework,” he said.

None of the auditors or various industry bodies is targeted by the Italian investigation.

ACCREDIA, which is responsible for accrediting auditors in Italy, said existing rules were “robust and well-structured” and stressed that the job of the audits is not to root out crime.

Sitting at the top of the system of voluntary controls is the Industry Aerospace Quality Group, a global body.

IAQG President Eric Jefferies said in a statement to Reuters that it is actively working on updates to existing standards.

“However, the outcomes of any quality management system implementation ultimately rest with the certified organization,” he said.

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2025/03/13/815410.htm

Airbus Books $2.7B Order from New Customer

Global jet-leasing firm Jackson Square Aviation placed its initial order with Airbus and will receive 50 A320neos, the world's top-selling commercial aircraft.

One of the world’s major aircraft leasing organizations has ordered 50 Airbus A320neo aircraft, a booking with an estimated value of $2.7 billion. It is the first direct order with Airbus for Jackson Square Aviation, a holding of Mitsubishi HC Capital Group that operates in Asia, Europe, and North and South America.

Airbus did not specify which of the four A320neo variants have been selected, nor the delivery dates. The OEM currently has an order backlog of more than 10,500 for the jet series.

Jackson Square Aviation has a total fleet 286 aircraft of different Airbus and Boeing series, in service with 62 customers, including Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and many more commercial carriers and freight services.

CEO Kevin McDonald “this is an exciting milestone in JSA’s history as a longtime global leader in the sale and leaseback financings of Airbus aircraft. JSA looks forward to our expanded relationship with Airbus.”

The A320neo is the best-selling aircraft in the world based on 2024 results, and more than 3,400 now in service. It is a twin-engine narrow-body aircraft developed to incorporate more fuel-efficient engine options and aerodynamic design elements, to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by at least 20% versus earlier aircraft models, along with 50% less noise, according to Airbus.

https://www.americanmachinist.com/news/article/55274294/27b-order-for-a320neos-from-jet-leasing-group-airbus

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

· Annual Women in Aviation International Conference, Gaylord Rockies Resort & Conference Center | Denver Colorado, March 27-29, 2025

· 59th Annual SMU Air Law Symposium is scheduled March 31 - April 2, 2025

· Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) Safety Symposium April 7-9, 2025

· AIA Conference: The Aviation Insurance Association's annual conference in Orlando, Florida from April 25–28, 2025

. 70th annual Business Aviation Safey Summit (BASS), May 6-7, 2025, Charlotte, N.C., organized by Flight Safety Foundation in partnership with NBAA and NATA.

· Sixth Edition of International Accident Investigation Forum, 21 to 23 May 2025, Singapore

· Flight Safety Foundation - Aviation Safety Forum June 5-6, 2025 - Brussels

2025 EASA-FAA International Aviation Safety Conference, 10 Jun 2025 to 12 Jun 2025, Cologne, Germany

· The 9th Shanghai International Aerospace Technology and Equipment Exposition 2025; June 11 to 13, 2025

. 3rd annual Asia Pacific Summit for Aviation Safety (AP-SAS), July 15-17, 2025, Singapore, organized by Flight Safety Foundation and CAAS.

· ISASI ANNUAL SEMINAR 2025'September 29, 2025 – October 3, 2025, DENVER, COLORADO

29th annual Bombardier Safety Standdown, November 11-13, 2025; Wichita, Kansas

· CHC Safety & Quality Summit, 11th – 13th November 2025, Vancouver, BC Canada