Financial Resilience | Business Jet Travel Strong Despite Global Recession

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• According to the Global Jet Captial (GJC) business aviation market update, business aviation remains strong, despite global economic concerns.

• The quarterly reports note that the return of existing business jet users and new customers is steering the industry through economic uncertainties.

• Similarly, the industry continues to beat its figures from previous years. While inventory stays historically low, “​​Business jet transactions are up by 14 perc‍ent in dollar volume in the first half, compared with the same period in 2021.”

• ‍“Challenges to the broader economy mounted during Q2, including inflation, rising interest rates, and economic contraction in some countries,” GJC said. “However, strengths in the business jet market, including high OEM backlogs and demand from new and returning users, have increased its resilience against a future downturn.”

AIN Online

Is Fatigue To Blame? Two Pilots Fall Asleep While Flying And Overshoot Their Destination

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• Two pilots with Africa’s largest airline - Ethiopian Airlines - reportedly fell asleep at the same time while operating a Boeing 737-800 from Khartoum, Sudan, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

• Both pilots dozed off during the cruise portion of the flight. Meanwhile, the autopilot followed the approach route to the airport but remained at flight level 370.

• Air traffic control attempted to contact the crew after several missed radio calls. The aircraft overflew the airport, and the autopilot disconnected when they reached the end of the pre-programmed route. The autopilot disconnect alarm awakened them.

• If or how fatigue was a factor in this is yet to be determined. “Appropriate corrective action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation,” the airline said.

• The flight was two hours long, but details of the flight crew’s previous flights have not been disclosed to the media.

New York Times

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Was It Worth It? Two Private Operators To Be Fined Millions Of Dollars For Illegal Charter Operations

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• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is fining two companies for completing illegal air charters.

• A company based in Pennsylvania faces $1,125,640 in civil penalties for conducting more than 50 paid passenger-carrying flights without an air operator certificate or operations specifications.

• According to the FAA, the company also hired and used unqualified flight crew, maintenance personnel, and operations staff.

• Another flight department in Colorado faces a fine of $3,009,500 for operating over 1,000 flights without a chief pilot and falsely claiming that the former chief pilot still worked there.

• Both organizations have 30 days to respond to the FAA.

Aerotime

Pushing Performance | NTSB Release Final Report On Runway Overrun In Burbank, CA

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• The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released the final report from a Southwest Airlines runway overrun in Burbank in December 2018. After floating more than 1000 feet beyond the touchdown zone, the aircraft could not stop before the runway’s end and came to rest in the Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS). No one was injured. Tailwinds existed at the time of the incident.

• The investigation revealed that the crew requested landing data for winds of 280 degrees at 5 knots. This performance data indicated that the airplane would stop with just 245 feet to spare before the end of the runway, assuming a textbook landing in the touchdown zone.

• Before landing, the controller stated that the winds were now 270 degrees at 11 knots and that windshear had been reported. No new landing data was obtained despite these new conditions.

• The investigators determined that the probable causes were “(1) the flight crewmembers’ decision, due to plan continuation bias, to continue the approach despite indications of windshear and a higher-than-expected tailwind and (2) the flight crew’s misperception of the airplane’s touchdown point, which was farther down the runway than the crew assumed because of the faster-than-expected groundspeed.”‍

• The report also cited Southwest’s “lack of guidance to prompt flight crews to reassess operator-provided landing data when arrival weather conditions differ from those used in the original landing data calculation” as a contributing factor.

• Both crews were highly experienced in the Boeing 737 and frequently flew into Burbank Airport. The airline has since focused efforts on integrating plan continuation bias and awareness of the touchdown zone into training.

Flight Safety Foundation