We take a look at the Boeing Safety and Quality Plan, the NTSB recommendations after the Southwest/FedEx near miss, the suspension of some ATC staff in India, Essential Air Service contracts, BARK Air’s lawsuit over airport-use restrictions, the sale of a B-17, and the NTSB inspection of the USAirways flight 1549 engines.
Aviation News Boeing Safety & Quality PlanBoeing had 90 days to deliver a comprehensive plan to the FAA to improve the company’s safety management and quality assurance, including in the supply chain. We look at The Boeing Product Safety and Quality Plan Executive Summary [PDF, 11 pages.]
The Plan includes the containment and mitigation actions Boeing took immediately after the accident. It also introduces Boeing’s new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of production system health and associated control limits for each KPI. Boeing intends that these metrics will provide “a continuous assessment of factory health and provide early warning of emerging quality and safety risks. They also will facilitate tracking of Boeing’s improvement under the Product Safety and Quality Plan and guide decisions about system readiness for rate increases.”
Boeing’s Immediate Containment and Mitigation
Improvements directed at the Boeing production system:
Improvements directed at the Boeing supply chain:
Key Performance Indicators
A significant component of the Product Safety and Quality Plan is the identification of six critical, safety-focused production health KPIs:
Each KPI also has associated control limits and defined criteria that will trigger corrective action and SMS risk monitoring.
Product Safety and Quality Plan Attention Areas
Safety Management System three main initiatives:
Simplification of Processes and Procedures [To help employees better understand their obligations, execute work instructions, and deploy solutions to overcome roadblocks.]
Supply Chain Defect Reduction
Training
Production System Compliance
Engagement and Communications
Installation Plan Improvements [work plans]
Special Audit Items
Expert Review Panel Recommendations
Boeing agrees with the findings and recommendations of the Expert Review Panel.
NTSB Proposes More Training, Tech After Southwest and FedEx Jets Near-Miss in TexasIn February 2023, Southwest Airlines and FedEx jets came close to colliding in Austin, Texas. After seeing the Southwest Boeing 737-700 plane at the last second, the FedEx pilots flew their Boeing 767-300 over the Southwest jet to avoid a collision. The two planes were only about 150 to 170 feet apart.
The NTSB determined the probable cause of the near miss was a bad assumption by the air traffic controller that the departing Southwest plane would be clear before the FedEx plane landed on the same runway.
The Board also identified two contributing factors:
The IndiGo A320neo was on approach to Runway 27 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) in Mumbai, India. The plane touched down seconds after an Air India A320neo had departed the same runway. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating and has “derostered” the ATC staff working at the time of the incident.
Video: Indigo a320 Landing and Air India a320 Takeoff at The Same time at Mumbai Airport
JetBlue will serve Presque Isle under a two-year contract.
Essential Air Service
The Essential Air Service (EAS) program was implemented to guarantee that small communities served by certified air carriers before airline deregulation maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service.
This is generally accomplished by subsidizing two round trips a day with 30- to 50-seat aircraft, or additional frequencies with aircraft with 9-seat[s] or fewer, usually to a large- or medium-hub airport. The Department currently subsidizes commuter and certificated air carriers to serve approximately 60 communities in Alaska and 115 communities in the lower 48 contiguous states that otherwise would not receive any scheduled air service.
2024-6-3 Order Selecting Air Carrier
Posted by the Department of Transportation on Jun 4, 2024:
“By this Order, the U.S. Department of Transportation (the Department) selects JetBlue Airways Corporation (JetBlue) to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Presque Isle, Maine (Presque Isle), for the two-year term from September 1, 2024, through August 31, 2026. JetBlue will provide Presque Isle with seven (7) nonstop round trips per week from Presque Isle International Airport (PQI) to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) using 100-passenger Embraer E190 (E190) aircraft for the first year and 140-passenger Airbus A220-300 aircraft for the second year. JetBlue will be compensated at the annual subsidy rates outlined below.”
BARK Air for dogs sued days after first flightWestchester County sued BARK Air alleging violations of the county’s airport-use restrictions. Those restrictions include a prohibition on the operation of commercial and chartered aircraft with more than nine seats from using the private jet terminal. BARK Air’s Gulfstream Aerospace GV jet has 14 seats. In a filing to the FAA, Westchester County said that the public charters “closely resemble” services offered by large, commercial airlines.
Michigan Flight Museum (former Yankee Air Museum) Sells Centerpiece B-17 ‘Yankee Lady’The Boeing B-17G has been sold to an undisclosed buyer for an undisclosed price. For some 40 years, the museum generated revenue with rides on the B-17. The money from the sale will be invested to support the museum.
MentionedNTSB Docket No. SA-532 Exhibit No. 8-A
William (Bill) Anders, Apollo 8 astronaut, Killed in San Juan Islands Plane Crash
Apollo 8: EarthriseMax Flight, Rob Mark, and our Main(e) Man Micah.
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