Critical to pilots’ acceptance of the Boeing 737 Max’s re-entry into service is the assurance that a serious out-of-trim situation can be easily resolved without the risk of manual controls becoming impossible to manipulate owing to aerodynamic forces. Not only will aircraft need to be modified but Max simulators will also have to be upgraded to ensure they accurately replicate the trim characteristics and the forces pilots will encounter. Investigation into the loss of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max highlighted the crew’s vain attempt to counter a significant trim imbalance – caused by the speed-trim system’s controversial MCAS software – by using the stabiliser trim wheel at high airspeed. The US FAA states that the force requirements to manually trim the 737 Max were an “area of intense focus” for the Ethiopian accident inquiry. Modification of the Max’s flight control software limits the maximum mis-trim that can occur for any foreseeable failure of the aircraft’s speed-trim system, of which MCAS is a part. The FAA says this ensures the pilot can maintain pitch control using only the control column, “without requiring exceptional pilot skill, strength or alertness” – a response to comments received during consultation which suggested that pilots ought to undergo annual strength tests. While the FAA is confident that the control column would be sufficient to deal with trim issues, it has also evaluated the manual trim system in the “unlikely event” that manual trim would be necessary. This evaluation included analysis of manual trim-wheel forces across various scenarios and testing to assess the strength capability of an “anthropometric cross-section” of both male and female pilots. Flight-testing under maximum out-of-trim conditions – beyond those possible for failure of the revised MCAS – has served to validate the trim-wheel forces as well as the crew’s ability to control the aircraft. “Manual trim-wheel forces meet FAA safety standards and do not require exceptional pilot skill or strength nor any special or unique handling techniques as suggested by some of the commenters,” the regulator states, adding that improved ‘runaway stabiliser’ procedures will further ensure that control forces remain “manageable”. These procedural revisions include specific notification to pilots that reducing airspeed lowers the air loads on the stabiliser, in turn reducing the effort needed for manual trim. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has conducted its own review of the Boeing modifications and the FAA’s analyses. EASA says the forces needed to operate the trim-wheel have been re-evaluated and it is satisfied that pilots will “not be faced” with a situation in which these manual forces are too high to recover control in the event of a trim runaway. It says it proposed a methodology for Boeing to demonstrate adequate forces against pilot strength, which was subsequently adopted. “This requires that a single pilot at the lower end of the human capability should be able to move the trim wheel, using one or two hands, for all of the out-of-trim conditions which could result from failures not shown to be extremely improbable,” says EASA.

Ukraine’s government has approved a proposal to sanction 13 Russian companies, including several airlines which will face a three-year ban on overflying Ukrainian territory. The measure is continuing evidence of the political tensions between the two countries whose relationship deteriorated after the Russian annexation of Crimea nearly seven years ago. Ukraine’s government states that it has approved the proposal from the ministry of infrastructure covering “special economic and other restrictive measures” including the “total ban” on flights. Infrastructure minister Vladislav Kryklii says airlines “dare to violate” a restriction prohibiting use of Ukrainian airspace over “temporarily occupied” areas of Crimea. The proposal involving a “complete cessation” of flights will be submitted to the Ukrainian national security and defence council for consideration, the government says. It has identified Pobeda, IrAero, KrasAvia, Komiaviatrans and Azimuth as being among the Russian operators, as well as smaller organisations such as Tulpar Air, Vologda Aviation, Simargl Air Company and others. Syrian operator Cham Wings is also being separately banned, says the infrastructure ministry.

Trade body IATA warns that states will have to dig deeper in the coming months to support struggling airlines as travel restrictions continue to tighten in response to new strains of the coronavirus. While airlines entered the year with optimism, the roll-out of vaccines meant a recovery in air travel demand may be in sight, this has been tempered by a series of moves by states to curtail travel as several contagious coronavirus strains emerged. The UK on 27 January imposed mandatory isolation in hotels for visitors from countries where travel bans are in place. ”I think the short-term outlook has certainly darkened,” IATA chief economist Brian Pearce said during a briefing. ”The critical time will be the summer season, because that is when airlines make most of their money. This is the seasonally low-time of year for travel. The vaccine should make all the difference, so the second half of the year should be and feel very different to what it’s feeling like now. So we are hoping this is the dark before the dawn.” While the heightened restrictions are further impacting travel demand, Pearce says the association already had a “very conservative” forecast under which it expects traffic this year to be around half 2019 levels. ”What we have also seen is airlines getting very low yields on passengers, partly because they have been pricing to try to stimulate demand….so revenues have been worse than the passenger [traffic] situation," Pearce says. "So we will be looking at that closely when we come to update our outlook on cash burn, which is clearly going to be very significant in the first part of this year.” IATA estimates governments have already provided almost $200 billion of cash to help keep airlines “on life support” - a key reason for the relatively small number of carrier failures so far during the crisis. ”We are facing a really challenging first half of the year before the vaccines really start to make a difference to travel demand, the situation is getting worse,” Pearce says. ”Many airlines have been able to raise a lot of cash, not just from government aid, but from borrowing in the capital markets. But if the summer season is endangered, there will be a clear need for more cash to keep airlines alive.” IATA chief executive Alexandre de Juniac adds that against this backdrop, further state support for the sector is required. ”For the next six to eight months we desperately need government support by any means, cost reduction, tax relief, cash injections, subsidies. Everything.”