Tag Archives: Bird Strike

829 Aviation Education

A longtime educator discusses getting an aviation education. In the news, companies partner to address corporate aviation safety and security, an A321 engine shutdown after a birdstrike, a proposal to remove ATC from the FAA, and when pigs fly. Also, notable flybys, AI flight controls, taking care of business on long flights, and an aircraft incident investigation on another planet.

Guest

Dr. Stanley Harriman, Department Head of Aviation Science at Orange Coast College.

Dr. Stanley Harriman is the Department Head of Aviation Science at Orange Coast College (OCC) in Costa Mesa, California. OCC focuses on getting students certificates that allow them to move into the workforce. The College partners with flight schools for those who want to become pilots and with Southern Illinois University to earn a bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management. In our conversation with Stanley, we looked at aviation education, what students should look for in a school, and a tip for getting into the industry.

Degrees and Certificates offered by OCC:

Stanley earned a Master’s in Aviation Safety and a Doctorate in Aviation Education from Purdue University. During his time at Purdue, his research focused on cognitive learning styles, scenario-based training, and aviation human factors. 

Following his graduate studies at Purdue, Stanley joined the Aviation Department at Lewis University near Chicago, Illinois. He continued his aviation safety research by investigating nano-particle coatings and their application on aircraft windshields to minimize environmental effects on pilots. He also led a team to design infrared warning systems to prevent airport runway incursions. 

Along with his research, Stanley’s teaching experience involved many facets of aviation. He taught courses in the Professional Pilot program, Aviation Maintenance program, and the Master’s program as the Director of Graduate Research. 

Stanley sits on national aviation committees providing aviation curriculum ideas and reform, aviation scholarships, and aviation safety research. He has been a safety research consultant and has traveled the country implementing these organizational and cultural changes within various aviation institutions, airlines, and maintenance facilities. 

Aviation News

Aviation Safety Solutions and Corporate Aviation Security International Join Forces to Fill Needed Gap in Aviation Safety and Security

Aviation Safety Solutions is a Safety Management Systems (SMS) consultant, and Corporate Aviation Security International (CASI) provides specialized security services for business aviation. The two companies have created a strategic partnership to address security shortfalls in the corporate aviation industry by integrating advanced safety and security services.

Bird strike disables a jetliner engine and forces an emergency landing at JFK airport

American Airlines flight AA-1722 departing from New York La Guardia to Charlotte, NC, an Airbus A321-200 (N133AN), experienced a bird strike that disabled one of the engines. The Aviation Herald reports the plane “was in the initial climb out of La Guardia’s runway 31 when the right-hand engine (V2533) ingested a bird and suffered stalls. The crew stopped the climb at 5000 feet, shut the engine down, and diverted to New York JFK Airport for a safe landing on runway 31L about 20 minutes after departure.”

See Wildlife Strikes to Civil Aircraft in the United States 1990 – 2023 from DOT/FAA and U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services. The report presents an analysis of data from the National Wildlife Strike Database. Also The FAA National Wildlife Strike Database: A Research Tool to Improve Aviation Safety.

Proposal to strip ATC from FAA reappears ahead of second Trump term

Air Traffic Control is under the FAA Air Traffic Organization. Previous efforts have sought to move ATC from under the FAA, but they didn’t progress. The notion returned at a Senate aviation panel hearing.

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner Flying to Mexico City Was Forced to Divert to Bermuda Because 100 Live Pigs in the Cargo Hold Made Such a Stench

The pilots of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight KL685 flying from Amsterdam to Mexico City contacted ATC and requested an unscheduled stop in Bermuda. The Captain reported that  there was “a lot of obnoxious cargo coming from pigs probably, which may have something to do with the oxygen environment in the cockpit, so that’s why I’m diverting.” Upon landing in Bermuda, the pigs disembarked and were taken to a “secure location” under the care of a veterinarian.

Memorable Flybys

From @Skippyscage.bsky.social: Video: Gulfstream IIB N779LC HALO4 final flight

@kenmist.bsky.social‬ Canadian Snowbirds. “Earlier this year at OSH. Made my old Canadian heart swell with pride.”

Canadian Snowbirds in flight.

@brentmo.bsky.social‬ – Terrafugia Transition roadable aircraft.

Terrafugia Transition roadable aircraft in flight.

@dmvanderhoof.bsky.social The Space Shuttle Discovery on the way to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Chantilly, Virginia.

B747 carrying the Space Shuttle Discovery.

Mentioned

Discount coupon for The Air Current. $15 for a three-month subscription. Use coupon code AGPOD. Offer good through December 31, 2024. Note: This offer is not sponsored.

NASA Performs First Aircraft Accident Investigation on Another World

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, our Main(e) Man Micah, David Vanderhoof, Rob Mark, and Max Trescott.

826 Ekolot Special Light-Sport Aircraft

We talk to a youngster who sells the Polish Ekolot Special Light-Sport Aircraft. In the news, the Spirit Airlines CEO gets a retention bonus, an FAA review board will look at smoke in the cockpit after bird strikes, JetBlue plans to reduce the number of pilots, and a United Airlines captain delights passengers with pizza. In listener mail, we look at jet emissions and what the industry is doing.

Guest

Ethan Lin is a 13-year-old who sells the Polish Ekolot Special Light-Sport Aircraft. His family purchased an Ekolot Topaz (N717KM) S-LSA in December 2022 after his father decided to switch careers and become an Air Transport Pilot. Ethan and his father started flying the Ekolot together, and because Ethan loved the plane so much, he contacted the distributor in December 2023 and asked about becoming a dealer. He’s been selling Ekolots ever since.

Because he is only 13 years old, his father has a role in the dealership, but Ethan handles customer service, selling the airplane, and coordinating meeting times. His father does the test flights with people who are interested in buying Ekolots, and he handles the financial side, including filing taxes.

Ekolot Topaz Special Light-Sport Aircraft on the tarmac.
Ekolot Special Light-Sport Aircraft

We discuss the difference between LSAs and S-LSAs and the proposed Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) rule, which would redefine the light sport aircraft category. Ethan explains why his family bought the plane and what he likes about it. He markets the plane with the Ekolot Texas Instagram. Also, Ethan and his father attend aviation events, such as Airplanes and Coffee, a monthly fly-in in the Dallas, Texas area at Addison Airport (KADS).

Ethan tells us how he learned the Ekolot’s specs, and about his plans to fly for an airline and sell planes “on the side.” He also offers his advice to other youngsters who have a passion.

Video: Ekolot Topaz Walkaround

Aviation News

Spirit Airlines CEO Gets $3.8 Million Bonus 1 Week Before Company Files Bankruptcy

An SEC filing says Spirit Airlines, Inc. paid CEO Ted Christie a $3.8 million retention bonus the week before the airline filed for bankruptcy. The bonus is effective if Christie stays with Spirit for another year. Under the restructuring plan, Spirit bondholders would take a $350 million ownership position, erase $795 million of debt, and provide $300 million of debt-in-possession financing. The New York Stock Exchange delisted Spirit stock which now trades in the over-the-counter marketplace. 

FAA plans to review 737 MAX engine issue after bird strike incidents

Two bird strike events in 2023 with Southwest Airlines aircraft (one in March and one in December) have caused the FAA to assemble a review board that will evaluate the safety of the CFM LEAP-1B engines. After the bird strikes, smoke entered the cockpit although the pilots landed the planes safely.

The review board will assess safety data and suggest fixes for manufacturers or airlines. These might lead to mandates. A Seattle Times article suggests that any mandated modifications could delay further the certification of the MAX 7 and MAX 10 models.

JetBlue Looks to Trim Pilot Workforce

Captain downgrades and base displacements are coming to JetBlue late next year. The airline says it will cut 343 captain positions out of the airline’s roughly 4,500 pilots. JetBlue lost $60 million in the third quarter and plans to ground more Airbus A220 and A321neo aircraft in 2024 as a result of ongoing Pratt & Whitney engine troubles. The airline is talking with the Air Line Pilots Association to offer early retirements.

United Pilot Orders 30 Pizzas to Feed Passengers After Emergency Landing for Medical Care

Pilot Scott Wardle was flying a United Airlines plane to Phoenix via Houston, but partway into the flight, a patient fell unconscious. By coincidence, three medical professionals were on board but Wardle felt it best to make an emergency landing at Albuquerque at 11 p.m. With that, the cabin crew had maxed out their hours and all were going to have to wait for a new crew of flight attendants. So “Pizza Pilot” Scott Wardle says he “had to do something to show we care” and oversaw the order and distribution of 30 pizzas to the 155 passengers.

Video: 7’s Hero: United Airlines pilot from Boise goes viral for buying pizza for 155 passengers

Mentioned

GE Aerospace: Experienced Engineers

Hydrogen Selected Countries

Boeing plant Wasserstoff-Superjet mit drei Rümpfen (Tri-body airplane)

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, our Main(e) Man Micah, Max Trescott, Rob Mark, and David Vanderhoof.

AirplaneGeeks 283 – Aviation Accident Animation

Eyewitness Animations

Jack Suchocki (a former Eastern Airlines Captain) is President of Eyewitness Animations. They create professional forensic animations and courtroom graphics, including aviation accident reconstruction. These are used for investigations and litigation. An example is the Asiana 214 crash video they produced. The animations are accurate with respect to the events, scale, and time. Clients include U.S. Government agencies, industry manufacturers and organizations, television networks, and many others.

We talk about where the data comes from for these animations constructed on personal computers and how they are used in accident litigation.

Sky Whale

The week’s aviation news:

Douglas DC-9

David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week: the Douglas DC-9.

In this week’s Australia Desk:

  • Qantas copping a US$90k fine for not a form of tarmac stranding
  • Qantas pulls their 737s out of Hobart & sticks to 717s
  • Air India 787 lines up on Essendon GA airport instead of Melbourne airport
  • Things get even more kooky with the new Toowoomba airport, starting with its name. (Damien Rose used to live in Toowoomba and knows the area well.)

Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

View through the glass from Barcelona Tower

View through the glass from Barcelona Tower

In this week’s Across the Pond segment:

Pieter talks to Jesús Calderon, Air Traffic Controller in the Barcelona Tower about recent changes to airfield procedures, why he is taking his ATPL exams in London and why Barcelona has been busier than Madrid this summer. We also get an insight into what an Air Traffic Controller thinks about when he takes a commercial flight as a passenger.

Find Jesús on Facebook, Pieter on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on Facebook at XTPMedia, and at the Aviation Xtended podcast.

Mentioned:

Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Episode 194 – The Aeroscholar

Guest Steve Harris is currently a senior at the University of Michigan in Aerospace Engineering and writes the Aeroscholar blog. He’s also the president of the UofM Student Chapter of The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and is a member of the Jet Engine Team of Michigan. Steve is starting to pursue a private pilot’s license, he has taken students on a tour of the top aerospace companies in southern California, he attends the Aerospace Sciences Meeting every year, and through the AIAA he lobbies for the aerospace industry in Washington D.C. Steve Tweets as @Aeroscholar.

The week’s aviation news:

David’s aircraft of the Week: the Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama.

No Australia Desk news report this week, but you can still find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

This week on Across the Pond, Pieter talks again to Rohit Rao from AeroBlogger about developments in India with the focus on airlines. There’s more news from Kingfisher and the guys look at some of the new airlines starting up in the region. Find Rohit on Twitter as @TheAeroBlogger.

Find Pieter Johnson on Twitter as @Nascothornet, on his blog Alpha Tango Papa, and also on Facebook at XTPMedia.

Links from Listener Email:

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.

Post photo by David Vanderhoof

 

Episode 31 – Maintenance with Kevin Michaels

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUBv-ph4820[/youtube]

Max and Court spend some time with Kevin Michaels of the AeroStrategy Management Consulting group talking about the week’s event’s.  Kevin lend’s his expertice on aircraft maintenance and a variety of other topics.  We always have a good amount of news to discuss, and this week was no different:

Top 5 Mainstream Travel Blogs

What Happened on Flight 1549, Inside and Out

Effort under way to remove aviation restriction from rescue package



Max’s pick of the week is http://planehook.com/.

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Brother Love is responsible for this episode’s opening and closing
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