Attention Crew at Stations
An emergency evacuation is always a stressful situation for passengers, cabin crews, and flight crews. Decisions have to be made rapidly and if the communication between the cabin and cockpit is not clear, or the evacuation is delayed by passengers trying to take their personal belongings, these can have critical consequences on the outcome.From the preflight briefing until the safe evacuation of all aircraft occupants, this article provides recommendations for both flight crew and cabin crew to ensure a safe and efficient emergency evacuation is performed.
Prevention of Unstable Approaches
Unstable approach has been a problem since the very beginning of commercial aviation. Even so, it is still one of the most common contributing factors to many of the incidents and accidents that occur on landing today. Regardless of the changes or cycles our industry faces, this article is a timeless reminder for the importance of efficient preparation for approach including anticipation of late changes, and the need for cooperation between flight crews and air traffic controllers. The article also provides tips to detect a potential unstable approach in advance so that it can be corrected long before the stabilization height. Respecting stabilized approach criteria is also highlighted as well as being go-around minded in the case of late destabilization.
A Focus on the Landing Flare
There were several cases of aircraft touching down with their nose landing gear first or hard landings reported to Airbus over the last 2 years. This article will present some key points coming from the analysis of two of these incidents and recall the operational recommendations for performing the flare phase that are key to ensuring a safe landing.
Mind the OEBs
Operations Engineering Bulletins (OEBs) are temporary procedures published for flight crews. They must be applied only in specific conditions to ensure safe and efficient operations of the aircraft.This article explains why OEBs are issued, the importance of communicating them to flight crews as soon as possible, and the importance for flight crews to comply with the OEB procedures. This article also stresses the importance of applying the available modifications that will cancel an OEB as soon as possible. Airbus provides support to Operators to assess and prioritize the implementation of service bulletin modifications that can remove applicable OEBs from their fleets.
Preparing for a Safe Return to the Skies
Aircraft that were parked or stored due to the impacts of the COVID-19 sanitary crisis are progressively returning to the skies. It is in this context that Airbus has already received several reports of rejected takeoff (RTO) and in-flight turn back (IFTB) events due to unreliable airspeed. All of these events had positive outcomes thanks to the actions of the flight crews. It does however illustrate the challenges for returning aircraft to flying, after they are parked or stored, and if the maintenance procedures are not followed in all cases. This is why we take this opportunity to share all of the available Airbus information and industry guidelines that can support Operators to ensure their safe return to the skies.
Safe Aircraft Refuelling
Safe refuelling operations require strict adherence to procedures and careful application of the safety precautions, not only by the refuelling operators but also flight crew, the cabin crew and the other ground operators.This article highlights the safety precautions that must be considered when refuelling an aircraft. It also describes supplementary tasks that are necessary if refuelling when passengers are on-board.
Avoiding Fuel Spills on A320 Family Aircraft
Cases of fuel spillage have been reported to Airbus on A320 family aircraft equipped with fuel transfer jet-pumps in the center tank.This article recalls the protections available against tank overfill. It explains why fuel spillage happened on the reported events and provides recommendations on how to avoid it.
Safe Aircraft Parking
Incorrect or incomplete application of the parking procedures at the end of a flight can lead to unexpected aircraft movement potentially resulting in injuries or significant damage from a collision with ground obstacles. Several cases of this type of event during maintenance are reported to Airbus each year.This article provides an overview of the parking brake architecture and explains the importance of checking accumulator pressure before applying the park brake, and then confirming there is sufficient hydraulic pressure at the brake unit. It also describes the safety enhancement available on A320 family and A330/A340 aircraft and gives recommendations for chock design and placement.
Managing Severe Turbulence
Severe turbulence encounters may cause injuries to passengers and cabin crew. If turbulence is unavoidable, using best practices, applying recommended techniques and following procedures will help to reduce the risk of injuries.This article is about turbulence encounters, their risks and tips for how to avoid them. It provides references and links to the relevant publications. It also highlights how communication between the flight crew and cabin crew can be most effective to manage the risks and recalls procedures and best practices to apply in the case of severe turbulence.
Takeoff Surveillance & Monitoring Functions
Airbus has continuously improved takeoff safety since the “TO CONFIG TEST” pushbutton was first introduced on A300 and A310 aircraft, and with the development of the Takeoff Surveillance (TOS1 & TOS2) and Takeoff Monitoring (TOM) functions.The TOS2 package that was initially developed for the A350 is now available for A320 family and A330 aircraft. This is an opportunity to review the checks that are performed by each function, from cockpit preparation to takeoff.