The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring airlines to modify Boeing 747-400 and 767 fuel-tank monitoring systems to prevent the risk of ignition within the tanks. Operators will have 72 months from 10 November to modify fuel-quantity indicating systems to prevent ignition within the jets’ centre fuel tanks, according to two FAA airworthiness directives (ADs) released 6 October. “The FAA is issuing this AD to prevent ignition sources inside the centre fuel tank, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapours, could result in a fuel-tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane,” say both orders. The directives affect 71 US-registered 747s and 261 767s, and require different actions for cargo than for passenger variants of the jets. The rules apply to 747-400s, 747-400 Freighters, 767-200s, 767-300s, 767-300Fs and 767-400ERs. Boeing did not respond to a request for comment. The FAA’s actions follow its analysis of fuel-system reviews completed by Boeing, the agency says. The risk of fuel-tank explosions caught regulators’ attention following the 1996 in-flight break up and crash of TWA flight 800, a Boeing 747-100. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that a fuel-air mixture likely exploded in the jet’s centre fuel tank. Boeing, trade groups Airlines for America and Cargo Airline Association, and airlines FedEx, KLM and UPS had asked the FAA to withdraw the AD, citing various reasons. Those included the “extremely improbable” risk of fuel-tank fires. Boeing said it considered the use in jets of nitrogen-generating systems, which reduce ignition risk by pumping nitrogen into tanks to displace oxygen, as addressing the concerns. The FAA disagreed, saying it identified “non-compliant design areas identified in the manufacturer’s fuel system reviews”.

Source: Cirium

The Federal Aviation Administration has released a draft report proposing training requirements for 737 Max pilots, another step towards the agency’s certification of the grounded jet. The FAA is accepting comments to the draft “Flight Standardization Report” through 2 November. The agency will not issue final training recommendations until after the comment period closes, the FAA says. Boeing has previously said it expects regulators will certificate the jet in time to allow deliveries to resume in the fourth quarter, though the FAA says steps remain. Asked to comment about the draft report, Boeing says it ”is working closely with the FAA and other global regulators to meet their expectations as we work to safely return the 737 Max to service”. The draft training document outlines changes aimed at helping pilots better understand and respond to inputs from the Max’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). Investigators say MCAS, which pitches the Max’s nose down in some flight circumstances, contributed to crashes of a Lion Air 737 Max in 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines Max in 2019. The draft training report specifies that pilots must be taught about MCAS and “associated failure conditions”, and experience, in a flight simulator, MCAS activation. They must also be trained in recognising “runaway stabiliser”, a condition occurring when a jet’s horizontal stabiliser moves without pilot command. Training must also stress “control column functionality and its effect on runaway stabiliser”, and “the need to trim out forces on the column prior to selecting “STAB TRIM cutout”. Pilots can use the trim-cut-out switch to disengage the jet’s electric horizontal trim system. Additionally, training must emphasise procedures for using electric and manual stabiliser trim during non-normal conditions, and “the effects of the air loads on the stabiliser.” The proposed training also calls for review of “erroneous high angle-of-attack (AOA) malfunctions”. The proposed training items address pilot and training concerns highlighted by the Max crashes. In the minutes before both jets went down, AOA failures caused MCAS to erroneously activate. Accident investigators concluded that the pilots, facing a bevy of failure indicators, were unable to regain control. They have attributed the crashes to pilot actions, Boeing’s design of the Max’s flight control system and the FAA’s certification of the jet. The draft pilot training recommendations incorporate recommendations from a “Joint Operations Evaluation Board” – a panel composed of regulators from the USA, Canada, Brazil and the European Union. In addition to finalising pilot training, the FAA says it still must review “Boeing’s final documentation, to evaluate compliance with all FAA regulations”.

Source: Cirium

Virgin Atlantic has introduced a pre-flight Covid-19 testing program for some of its London Heathrow-based crew, with the aim of eventually carrying out monthly tests on all pilots and cabin attendants. The UK carrier says it launched the trial by testing crew ahead of flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai on 30 September, and will roll out the program to cover Barbados and other "select services" later this month. Virgin Atlantic has partnered with biotech firm GeneMe UK, distributor of the FRANKD Covid-19 test. Swabs are taken on site and results are processed and delivered within 30min via an app, negating the need for a laboratory, says the carrier.
"While the Covid-19 testing landscape evolves, we continue to be in discussions with multiple providers offering different technologies to guarantee the best solution possible, while absolutely ensuring that we do not compete with the UK National Health Service for vital resources," states Virgin Atlantic chief customer and operating officer Corneel Koster.
The trial is "a first step in our phased plan to introduce regular testing for all of our teams in the air and on the ground, in order to instill confidence in flying", adds Koster. Virgin Atlantic has reiterated its call for the "swift introduction" by the UK government of a wider passenger testing system that removes the need for arrivals from high-risk countries to quarantine. Koster says that without it, "demand for travel will not return". The UK government is reported to be on the verge of making an announcement on airport testing, amid strong pressure from the aviation industry. The list of countries that people can travel to without having to self-isolate for 14 days when they return is shrinking. Turkey and Poland are the latest nations to be removed from the UK's travel-corridor list.

Source: Cirium