Malaysian MH370

Malaysian MH370 disappeard on March 7, 2014 and the search continues and no one is the wiser. This will not be the first aircraft crash whose wreckage may not be found. In the meantime the relatives of the passengers suffer the uncertainty and lack of closure. Our prayers and thoughts are with them.

The Media and CNN in particular has made this into a 24 hours a day drama, with experts upon experts speculating on what may have been; not that other networks were any less guilty.

The aircraft made a turn and headed back and then it was lost from the radar and satellites. The whole incident/accident questions what a lot of us in aviation took for granted:

• if an aircraft does not report to the next ATM center or disappears from the radar someone will raise an alarm; or
• if an unidentified aircraft shows up on a radar screen, someone would try to raise the flight or scramble an aircraft to have a look see. But for someone to assume and do nothing on the premise that if an airliner turns back it must have an ATC clearance is ridiculous.

However, some of the theories brought forward to explain the disappearance of MH370 are literally out of this world. The sad part was, they were seriously discussed on TV and social media, and these include:

• a black hole type disturbance in the atmosphere sucked the aircraft into space or another dimension;
• the flight was hijacked by US and Israeli agents because it carried some ultra secret technology on its way to the Taliban or North Korea; 
• there was mention of a cyber attack on the aircraft systems;
• the plane was destroyed by a Texas company because it had four Chinese engineers holding semi conductor patents worth billions of dollars. The patents will revert to the company in case of their death; and/or
• the pilot has gone suicidal because he had a failed love affair or was an Islamic zealot.

One good thing came out of this accident; countries were ready to cooperate to locate the aircraft, contributing resources from maritime surveillance aircraft, ships, satellites and underwater equipment capable of locating the pulses of the CVR and DFDR locators in a search effort that moved from one area to the other as investigators refined the flight path of the missing aircraft.   

When AF447 was lost in June 1, 2009 over the South Atlantic, it took two years to recover the DFDR and CVR and sadly we are facing the same problem. The calls to extend the battery lives of the DFDR/CVR came to nothing. There were even suggestions of floatable black boxes.

However, the solution must be a better aircraft tracking regime utilizing the available technology in               e-Enabling and connectivity in addition to the extended locators batteries operational life. A solution to switching off the ATC Transponders and ACARS in flight must be found.

As of today April 5, the Chinese news agency reported that one of its ships have detected a pulse at 37.5KHz which is the DFDR/CVR locator frequency and their pilots have photographed a debris field. 

We remain hopeful that this may be the successful end of the search.

Challenges Facing MROs in MENA

Last week (24 -25 May 2011) I attended the Airline Engineering and Maintenance Middle East Conference at Abu Dhabi organized by UBM Aviation. This conference came at a time the region faces political turmoil and rising oil prices that may affect the global economic recovery. The turnout was exceptional with several major airlines in the region attending. 
As usual the conference offered thought provoking ideas. discussed below are a few that I found interesting;


Global MROs was something pursued by Mubadala Aerospace and Turkish Technic where the idea of leveraging and aligning several MROs and JVs with OEMs to provide a full service to the extent that Mr. Abdulla Shadid, Manager Business Development, Mubadala Aerospace said in the keynote address of the conference "The days of the independent non aligned MROs are over", declaring the demise of the Independent MRO.


AACO  expanded on the dangers facing the MROs of the region and summed them up as follows:
1. Regulations and educating the regulators in the needs of the industry and how the lack of harmonised 
     regulations is affecting the business.
2. Shortage of maintenance personnel not only in the region but worldwide.
The issue of  manpower development was addressed by the Gulf Aviation Academy and the shortage of  human capital was considered one of the main issues facing the region.


Operating engines in the harsh environment of MENA especially the Gulf region was discussed by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Etihad, both outlining their experience in that regards.


Managing inventories and all related activities were put in perspective from  different points of view. Emirates shared their efforts on managing the inventory to support a fleet of 152 aircraft over a network of 100+ stations. AJ Walter Aviation discussed how they can provide support for airlines in this regard.


The dilemma of outsourcing or developing inhouse capabilities was discussed by the low cost carriers of the region Jazeera Airways, Air India Express and Jordan Aviation. The pitfalls associated with outsourcing, power by the hour versus time and material and the importance of paying attention to aircraft and engine return conditions.


Thanks again to UBM Aviation for providing a venue for networking and sharing ideas affecting the MENA region.

Of Things To Come ... Aviation in MENA

I recently attended the 16th Middle East Airline Maintenance & Engineering Conference at Abu Dhabi organized by UBM Aviation. I have attended several of these conferences and even co-chaired one. However, this one was one of the most interesting I have attended. It came at a time, the aviation industry in the region and globally is ready to undergo changes.

Several topics were discussed but the most interesting (for me at least) were

MRO Hubs in the region and the relationship with OEMs. In the last few years OEMs have become more aggressive in setting up MROs in order to generate more revenues, and in the process competed against their own customers. The concept of a HUB MRO, a one stop shop, only works if you are a big airline or one with a big aircraft order, so you can browbeat the OEMs. Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT formerly GAMCO) is one such entity. It has Mubadala and Etihad backing it up and making OEMs bring in technology into the UAE. The other MROin the region are basically into airframe work with some engine works or components thrown in. So it seems MENA will get its HUB MRO.

EU ETS (Emission Trading System) was another subject which is causing controversy globally. In theory ETS is a great idea if it was not that the money collected will probably never be invested in aviation or climate change research. Of course the other problem is that the EU wants to collect on all emissions generated outside the EU just because the flight originates, ends or overflies the EU. This is causing problems for the airlines who in theory will pay several time for emissions by virtue of overflying several countries or territories. Ideally, emissions generated by a flight should be accounted for once.

Other subjects of interest were bio-fuel and greener engine technology. Well Bio-fuels are here to stay. Companies are working on bio-fuels that do not require edible products as the source. It is no good to starve in order to be greener, but are looking at other sources of vegetation or algae. Greener engine technologies are those that relate to the reduction of NOx and Carbon. It deals with design of engine parts that improve fuel burn and reduce engine weight. Such an innovation is P&W Geared Turbofan (GTF) which allows the Low Pressure System and the High Pressure System to rotate each at its optimum speed, thus increasing efficiency and fuel burn and reducing noise and emissions.

Last but not least is the Changing Regulatory Requirements, with the introduction of SMS and all the associated cultural changes that come with it (risk management, reporting regimes, just culture and so on). One topic of discussion was how to deal with regulatory authorities. The relationship between the regulators and the airlines and support activities should be a true partnership. I realize the partnership label is a great buzz word, but it needs to be changed into a reality. The relationship should be mutually supportive so it becomes a true win win system.

Thanks again to UBM Aviation for providing a venue for networking and sharing ideas about the industry.

Deliveries

Since 2005 I was involved in about twelve and a half (12.5) deliveries, aircraft deliveries that is. The bulk happened at Airbus at their Toulouse facility. I enjoy Toulouse, such a historic place with a young population, full of university students. Great countryside and not too bad weather.

Three other deliveries happened in Barcelona. Definitely one of my favorite places. The place brims with diversity, from people to architecture to food. A place where the sea meets the mountains, the old meets and coexists with the new.

However, 2009 brought in new deliveries in terms of type; from commercial to VIP and at totally new locations.

Two EMBRAER Legacy 600s from Sao Jose Dos Campos in Brazil. A city that lies in the middle of rolling green hills and beautiful countryside. An aircraft delivery is an aircraft delivery is an aircraft delivery, what changes in a VIP interior is the emphasis on the quality of the cabin. No big deal, well actually it is a big deal, it looks at a totally different level of comfort and quality.

Finally, this brings us to the HALF delivery, it is a green aircraft!

Noooo, nothing to do with the environment, it is green because it has no interior installed. The final acceptance will be performed after completion of the interior installation. This one happened to be in Hamburg. This is my first visit to Hamburg, the city architecture is diverse and so is the landscape, rivers, canals, lakes and the sea. At this time Hamburg is in a festive mood with Christmas just round the corner. The Christmas Market, an open market, was crowded in spite of the rain and a Sunday evening. Gluehweine (hot wine punch) and generous portions of sausages and ham sandwiches seemed to be the favorites of the crowd. Christmas trees were all over the city including the container terminal at the Port of Hamburg.

Deliveries are highly technical and contractual events but that should in no way detract from enjoying the cultural aspects of cities like Toulouse, Barcelona, Sao Jose Dos Campos and Hamburg.