#unreliable

The focus of this article is go-around near the ground, sometimes called, “rejected landing”. This follows our previous article: “A Focus on the Landing Flare” article published September 2020 and “A Focus on the Takeoff Rotation” published January 2021. Those articles provided recommendations for avoiding tailstrikes when performing landing flare and takeoff rotation. There is also a higher risk of tailstrike when a go-around is required near the ground. This article provides additional recommendations and observations for flight crews to help them avoid tailstrike events during this phase.

It is not always possible to repair a system failure before the next flight. The MEL permits the dispatch of an aircraft with inoperative equipment or functions for a limited period of time, and under specific conditions, while maintaining an acceptable level of safety. Current in-service data shows an increase in the number of requests for MEL extension indicating an increase of departures with multiple open MEL items. Even if dispatch under MEL always guarantees an acceptable level of safety, it increases the risk of exposure to multiple failures with their inherent operational consequences. This article recalls the importance of fixing MEL items at the earliest opportunity to reduce this risk of exposure to multiple failures, and provides best practices where MEL extensions are necessary to maintain the highest possible margin of safety.

All aircraft generate wake vortices, also known as wake turbulence, which continue to be evident far behind the generating aircraft. Another aircraft crossing this wake may feel a sharp and brief turbulence which can be strong under some circumstances. Let’s review the specific characteristics of wake vortices’ and how pilots should react in case of an encounter to ensure the safety of the flight.

by Yannick MALINGE – SVP & Chief Aviation Safety Officer

Incorrect installation of a cargo doors seal may lead to unsafe in-flight operations such as abnormal cabin pressurization or an ineffective cargo fire extinguishing system.This article recalls the essential steps of the AMM for correct cargo door seal installation, including the required inspection after installation.

The LOSS OF BRAKING procedure memory items have to be applied in the extremely remote case of a failure of the braking system. In-service experience shows that inappropriate application of the LOSS OF BRAKING procedure may contribute to a risk of runway excursion. This article recalls the conditions to apply the LOSS OF BRAKING procedure and highlights the risk of confusion by the flight crew when monitoring the aircraft deceleration during landing on contaminated runway. 

Abnormal events such as bird strikes and hail strikes can occur at any time. When the aircraft is struck by birds or Foreign Object Debris (FOD), the correct inspection process must be followed, before the next flight, to determine if the aircraft is safe to fly.This article focuses on the effect that a bird or hail strike can have on the radome of the aircraft. It recalls the recommendations to flight and maintenance crews to ensure correct detection, reporting, and management of a bird or hail strike. It also explains why it is important to always check both the outer and inner sides of a radome after any bird or hail strike event. 

Two recent events with damage to the passenger windows of the aircraft were reported to Airbus. Similar events also happened on non-Airbus aircraft. The damage was caused by the heat of spotlights used during promotional filming sessions. One of these events could have had serious safety consequences as damage was not detected on ground, and caused some window panes to detach from the aircraft during the next flight. This article describes this event in more detail and how to prevent heat damage due to exterior lighting. It also recommends checking the condition of the aircraft before it returns to service.  

by Yannick MALINGE – SVP & Chief Aviation Safety Officer

Two cases of inappropriate V/S target during an autoflight reversion to V/S mode after a go-around were recently reported to Airbus. In both cases, the inappropriate V/S target resulted in a pitch down command of the autopilot with high thrust. The flight guidance used the previously selected V/S value set during the preceding ILS glide slope intercept from above as a V/S target for the mode reversion.This article describes one of these events in detail and explains the conditions that caused this autoflight behavior. It provides operational recommendations to flight crews to prevent and detect this situation. It also lists the system enhancements that were launched to avoid the use of an inappropriate V/S or FPA target during a mode reversion of the flight guidance.

With the start of the winter season in the northern hemisphere, it is a timely reminder to re-publish this article, initially published in 2018. Ice ridges on the lower nose fuselage can cause Computed Airspeed (CAS) values delivered by the ADRs to be lower than the actual airspeed which may lead to unreliable airspeed events. This article describes the potential effect on the aircraft’s systems from the takeoff phase and how to prevent such situation.

Each in-service aircraft is struck by lightning at least once per year, on average. Even if the level of energy of lightning strikes is high, their effects on an aircraft are limited.This article explains the lightning phenomenon and why aircraft are prone to lightning strikes. It describes how aircraft are designed to limit the effects of a lightning strike and ensure that the safety of the flight is not impaired. It also recalls several safety precautions to take in flight and on the ground, and what must be done when an aircraft is struck by lightning.

Inadvertent use of the wrong cockpit control instead of the intended control is a potential situation that pilots may encounter on any aircraft type. This kind of error can occur with even the most experienced pilots and this article explores what factors can influence and lead to this type of occurrence. The resilience of the aircraft systems to cope with such an error provides effective safety barriers to prevent serious events. The aim of this article is also to raise awareness of the potential causes and effects of cockpit control confusion incidents and provide information about best practices, which can help pilots to reduce the risks that may lead to operational and safety consequences.

by Yannick MALINGE – SVP & Chief Product Safety Officer

Several in-service events were reported to Airbus where the flight crew inadvertently selected the autopilot while attempting to engage the autothrottle during the takeoff roll. Inadvertent autopilot engagement may result in early rotation that can lead to a tail strike, inability to climb, runway overrun, or even loss of control. The purpose of this article is to describe the circumstances leading to this type of event with a case study and to provide details about the procedure updates and planned product enhancements that aim to prevent recurrence.

Performing similar maintenance tasks on redundant systems at the same time, or by the same person during a particular maintenance check, may lead to the repetition of a maintenance error. This creates a risk of simultaneous failure of the redundant systems when the aircraft is back into service.This article provides best practices to reduce this risk and ensure that the benefits of redundancy of systems or components on the aircraft is not compromised.

The SOP for landing requests that the flight crew perform a full stop landing after thrust reversers selection. However, in-service flight data analysis revealed that the equivalent of one go-around per month is performed after selection of thrust reversers. This article describes an event where the flight crew performed a go-around after they had selected thrust reversers on an A320 aircraft. The reverser on one engine remained deployed until the end of the flight. The article explains how adherence to SOPs will prevent recurrence of this kind of event and describes the product enhancements that Airbus developed as additional safety barriers.

Special tools or Ground Support Equipment (GSE) may be required to perform some maintenance tasks. Airbus provides a list of approved suppliers for GSE or tools in the Tools and Equipment Manual (TEM). GSE or tools from suppliers that are not listed in the TEM may be offered to Operators and maintenance organizations as alternatives. However, these alternative GSE or tools may not always be designed or manufactured to meet the technical, quality, and safety requirements of Airbus. This article describes events where the use of unapproved GSE or tools led to serious incidents. It explains why it is important to only use GSE or tools from approved suppliers to ensure safe aircraft maintenance and operations.

There were several events reported to Airbus where the go-around guidance modes did not engage when flight crews initiated a go-around. The analysis of these events indicated that the aircraft were on approach in CLEAN flaps configuration. Some of these events led to a high-energy situation toward the ground at low altitudes.This article explains why the go-around guidance modes do not engage on some aircraft if the go-around is initiated while the aircraft is in CLEAN flaps configuration. The article provides recommendations for flight crews if they face this situation. It describes the modifications that are planned to ensure that the go-around guidance modes engage when the flight crew initiates a go-around, even if the aircraft is on approach in CLEAN flaps configuration.

by Yannick MALINGE – SVP & Chief Product Safety Officer

Oxygen is a vital gas, but when combined with a source of heat and flammable material, it can cause a significant fire hazard. This risk increases in an oxygen-enriched environment and can even lead to an explosion. Oxygen servicing requires specific safety precautions to avoid any hazardous situations. This article explains how a fire can start in the presence of oxygen and highlights the safety precautions that must always be followed whenever working on oxygen systems.

Proper servicing of landing gear is obviously important to ensure proper landing gear operations during takeoff and landing. It is equally important to ensure proper retraction and extension to prevent potential interference with other aircraft systems in the case of abnormal landing gear conditions.If the landing gear servicing tasks are not properly performed, issues can occur such as struts seized in a retracted position and strong vibrations that can affect the function of avionics equipment. This article provides a description of best practices that maintenance crew can apply when performing the landing gear servicing tasks, with a focus on the shock absorber and the importance of regular lubrication.

Using an erroneous barometric reference setting during approach may cause the aircraft to fly lower than the published approach path, when the vertical guidance and trajectory deviations use the barometric reference. This can lead to a risk of controlled flight into terrain in poor visibility conditions or at night.This article explains the potential consequences of an erroneous barometric reference. It also provides guidance to flight crews on how to detect it, and describes the available system enhancements to alert flight crews when an erroneous BARO reference is detected.

All Brakes are subject to wear. Some brakes may also experience oxidation which can lead to brake rupture. In the case of a brake rupture or if brakes are too worn, the aircraft braking performance is reduced. This can result in a runway overrun if the full braking capacity is required such as during a rejected takeoff with an aircraft weight at or close to the maximum takeoff weight. Brake rupture can also lead to damage that can cause a brake fire due to hydraulic fluid coming into contact with hot parts.This article describes carbon wear and oxidation phenomena. It recalls the maintenance procedures used to identify worn or oxidized brakes, flight crew procedures, and good practices to prevent brake wear and oxidation.

by Yannick MALINGE – SVP & Chief Product Safety Officer

An aircraft fuel tank provides the perfect conditions for microbiological contamination to develop, especially when operating in hot and humid environments. Problems caused by microbiological contamination of fuel can range from inaccurate or erroneous fuel quantity readings to structural corrosion and engine fuel supply difficulties caused by clogged fuel filters. As a result, if treatment is not correctly applied, microbiological contamination can also cause significant safety issues. This article describes why prevention is important and focuses on why it is essential to follow the maintenance procedures when treatment is required.

Several recent engine fire events highlight the importance of timely application of the engine fire procedure. This article explains why flight crew must apply this procedure without delay. Decisive action when there is an engine fire alert may prevent further damage to the engine. This can help to ensure that a manageable fire situation does not become an uncontrolled fire with more serious consequences.

Several cases of uncommanded spoiler extension were reported to Airbus in recent years. Investigations showed that a high acidity level of the hydraulic fluid was a contributor to these events. This article recalls the importance of checking the quality of the hydraulic fluid and describes the improvements made to the AMM/MP procedure to perform hydraulic fluid analysis and reduce buildup of acid in the fluid. It also recalls some good practices to prevent hydraulic fluid contamination during maintenance or servicing operations.

A number of engine Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) overlimit events at takeoff were reported to Airbus, including dual events leading to a significant increase in flight crew workload at low altitude. This article recalls the importance of monitoring the EGT margin of each engine to detect any degradation in engine performance early, and provides recommendations to Maintenance, Flight Operations, and flight crews to prevent EGT overlimit events. It also reminds us of what to do in the case of an EGT overlimit indication at takeoff.

In the past few years, several events occurred involving landing with the Nose Landing Gear (NLG) wheels turned to 90° from the aircraft centerline. The investigations identified the root causes, which were different for each event. Mitigating actions were developed and deployed accordingly. This article describes the outcomes of investigations into several events of aircraft landing with NLG wheels at 90° and shows why they are not related. It also recalls the corrective actions and existing operational recommendations to prevent any recurrence.

by Yannick MALINGE – SVP & Chief Product Safety Officer

The Instrument Landing System (ILS) is accurate and reliable, but the ILS antenna design today causes secondary glide slopes to appear above the primary glide slope. Flight crews must be aware of this phenomenon to prevent unwanted aircraft behavior during an ILS glide slope capture.This article explains the phenomenon of secondary glide slopes and their effect on aircraft systems. It provides guidance and examples that show how flight crews can prevent capturing a secondary glide slope. It also describes the protections on Airbus aircraft that limit the effect of an unintended secondary glide slope capture on the aircraft trajectory.

Resilience training is not a new concept in aviation. It was introduced in mandatory Crew Resource Management (CRM) training for pilots a few years ago. Resilience is built on a pilot’s confidence and competencies. But what if they did not fly for many weeks or months?With many aircraft returning to service following the massive fleet grounding our industry has faced as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, it is a good time to highlight the importance of resilience training.

TCAS RAs are not correctly followed in more than 40% of cases according to a recent study published by Eurocontrol, making non-compliance with TCAS RAs one of the top 5 Air Traffic Management (ATM) operational and safety risks.This article explains how the TCAS Alert Prevention (TCAP) and AP/FD TCAS functions can improve the situation by respectively reducing the number of RAs in congested airspace, and assisting flight crews to follow TCAS RAs in an optimum manner. The article also recalls the TCAS warning procedure step-by-step, with and without the AP/FD TCAS function and provides guidance for training flight crews.

A system reset is not always the quick fix that it may seem. Performing an inappropriate manual system reset in flight can seriously impair the safety of the flight. Multiple system resets on the ground without performing the necessary troubleshooting actions can also have serious consequences.This article addresses when system resets are applicable and how to perform them correctly.

Flying on an aircraft with an incorrect aircraft technical configuration can cause unexpected system behaviors that could lead to an accident or a serious incident. This can occur when an aircraft is dispatched with a computer standard that is not authorized to be installed on that aircraft. Incorrect technical configuration or documentation can also create inconsistency between the documentation and the actual aircraft technical configuration.This article recalls the key aspects of technical configuration management. It highlights the importance of checking the Part Number (P/N) of the software installed on data loadable computers and describes the tools that Airbus has developed to help Operators make sure that they install the appropriate P/N on their aircraft.

by Yannick MALINGE – SVP & Chief Product Safety Officer

A significant number of missing wheel tie bolts have been reported to Airbus over the last 5 years. A few of these reports have described significant damage to the wheel or brakes. Carefully checking the condition of the wheel tie bolts during aircraft walkarounds can allow detection of missing or damaged bolts and help to prevent serious incidents in service or during maintenance. Strictly observing the preventive maintenance practices, including planned inspection intervals, ensure that any damaged wheel tie bolts are replaced before they are at risk of failing.

The latest Statistical Analysis of Commercial Aviation Accidents is available and updated with 2020 figures. In a year that saw half the number of flights of the previous year, there were still three fatal accidents and six hull losses. The industry fatal accident and hull loss rates are steadily decreasing over time, but this trend faces a unique challenge due to the many aircraft grounded at the peak of the pandemic in 2020. From a safety perspective, this scenario requires all actors to be focused on the right priorities, which is to ensure safety as more aircraft, crews, and passengers return to the skies.

Since the beginning of 2020, Airbus has received an increasing number of reports of unreliable airspeed events at takeoff due to Pitot probe obstruction. Despite the existing prevention means and the preflight exterior walkaround, takeoffs with obstructed air data probes may happen. This article highlights why it is so important for pilots to actively monitor the airspeed during the entire takeoff roll, to detect an airspeed discrepancy as early as possible, and safely reject the takeoff, if required to do so.

by Yannick MALINGE – SVP & Chief Product Safety Officer

An appropriate takeoff rotation maneuver is a balance between good takeoff performance and sufficient margin versus tail strike, stall speed, and minimum control speeds.Applying the 3°/s rotation rate requested in the SOPs is the key to ensure that the aircraft meets the expected takeoff performance. Flight data monitoring shows that the rotation rate values in service vary and a lower rotation rate is observed in some cases with the associated degradation of takeoff performance. This article describes both the takeoff rotation laws available on Airbus Fly-by-Wire (FBW) aircraft and the recommended rotation techniques that will enable flight crew to achieve consistent takeoff rotations at the requested rotation rate.

A dedicated task force in Airbus Customer Support was created in response to the unprecedented impact of the global pandemic on our industry since March 2020. As there have been many aircraft grounded for an extended period of time, this letter provides Operators with the latest Airbus guidance on parking & storage of aircraft and to ensure their safe return to service. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Facing the unprecedented and massive fleet storage worldwide which is needed in the current COVID-19 pandemic, Airbus has launched an active support to all operators about the grounding, parking and storage conditions.To complement this on-going effort, this article aims at reminding some of the key safety considerations for a proper parking and storage. 

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

Signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) are one of the main inputs used for aircraft positioning or time reference for Communication, Navigation and Surveillance functions on-board most of the Airbus aircraft.Operators report an increasing number of events related to the loss of GNSS signals due to Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) during operations in some areas of the world.This article explains the causes of RFI, the effects on the aircraft systems and provides recommendations for flight and maintenance crews.  

The use of unrealistic failure scenarios during simulator training can lead to negative training. This article describes the « TOTAL PITOT BLOCKED » failure that is available in simulators. It explains why simultaneous and permanent dual “TOTAL PITOT BLOCKED” in climb or descent phase leads to negative training.

While flying at FL380, an A340 aircraft encountered a strong and abrupt tailwind decrease that triggered significant MMO overshoot and overspeed warning.The crew disconnected the AP, took over and inappropriately applied OEB49 (ADR2 & ADR3 set to OFF).This article describes this event and presents two main aspects from its analysis: the management of an overspeed situation and the inappropriate OEB49 application.It details the rationale for the OEB49 (on A330/A340 aircraft) and OEB48 (on A320 family) and their conditions of application. It explains why they must not be trained on simulator and recalls the aircraft modifications allowing to cancel the OEB.

Modern aircraft operate at high altitude and close to their high speed limits. As a consequence, temporary overspeed events can occur in cruise in changing wind conditions.Analysis of in-service data shows the need to remind the appropriate techniques to manage such temporary overspeed and avoid potential significant trajectory deviation.This article therefore recalls the aircraft capabilities to cope with overspeed and the recommended techniques to safely prevent and manage overspeed conditions in cruise.

Fan cowl door loss events are still reported to Airbus. In all cases, the fan cowl doors were not latched closed and secured following a maintenance task.This article provides an update on the design and procedure improvements introduced on the Airbus fleet to prevent fan cowl door loss events.

It is of the outmost importance to make sure that escape slides’ maintenance is properly done so that they can deploy correctly when they are the most needed. This article recalls the importance of reporting scheduled and unscheduled slide deployment results to Airbus. It highlights the most common causes of unsuccessful slide deployments and provide recommendations to prevent them.

In this article, Airbus would like to take you through a case study and use it to learn some lessons and share our safety first culture. The article is split into three distinct parts:The first will describe the eventThe second, targeted at flight crews, will discuss and develop the stabilization criteria and present a prevention strategy against unstable approaches. It will also insist on the need to use the appropriate level of automation at all times.The third part, targeted at maintenance personnel, will illustrate the need to always use the Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) as the source document for maintenance operations.

As professionals, working in an industry with annual growth rates between 5 & 6%, we must ask ourselves the question ‘what could be the impact on Safety of a doubling of air traffic?’. Without industry-wide action to lower the accident rate, by 2030 we will be experiencing accidents more frequently.This article looks at an Airbus initiative called Air Transport Safety Destination 10X Together, which is a platform upon which Airbus and our operators can collaborate to propose pragmatic solutions to key identified safety issues.

Emergency lights must illuminate when required for aircraft evacuations. If maintenance is not performed correctly, this can compromise the availability of the emergency lights.

The FCOM Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) provide specific guidance to flight crews for thrust application at takeoff.This article explains why 2-step thrust application is required at takeoff and why some extra steps should be taken in tailwind or significant crosswind conditions. It also provides recommendations to ensure optimum lateral control of the aircraft during takeoff roll and how to react if an asymmetric event is experienced at low speed.

Thousands of aircraft doors are opened daily, usually without incident. However, several events are reported to Airbus each year where residual cabin pressure caused a door to open violently, leading to serious injuries or aircraft damage. This article describes the available residual cabin pressure warnings, with their limitations. It recalls the recommendations for flight crew, cabin crew, and ground staff to take before opening an aircraft door and provides the safety precautions to take to avoid unintentional pressurization of the aircraft on ground.

The number of people injured when emergency escape slides are inadvertently deployed is low. Nevertheless, such events pose a threat to the safety of people in or around aircraft. They are also a cause of aircraft damage, and departure delays. This article looks at how Inadvertent Slide Deployments (ISDs) can be avoided, and presents a new solution available to prevent them.

In any analysis of aviation accidents, Runway Excursions (RE) are usually identified as the top cause of aircraft hull losses. Many of these accidents occur on runways where braking performance is degraded by runway surface contaminants.Airbus and its subsidiary NAVBLUE have developed a new technology to use the aircraft itself as a sensor to measure the available runway braking action, and subsequently share that data to the benefit of oncoming traffic.

Thrust reverser partial deployment in-flight events have been reported to Airbus which have had both a maintenance and an operational contribution.This article describes a typical event, and provides a reminder of the recommended actions for the flight crew when an alert related to the thrust reversers is triggered at the gate or during taxi-out. It also provides maintenance recommendations to ensure correct thrust reverser de-activation task accomplishment.

All aircraft are designed, tested and certified to avoid the possibility of exceeding its structural strength. Operational thresholds or limits define the envelope for the load conditions in normal operations, and there are design margins to cope with abnormal or excessive loads on the aircraft if they are experienced in-flight or on the ground.  The Pilot’s report of high load events in the logbook is the starting point to commence an evaluation of the event to determine if the abnormal load has affected the structure or systems of the aircraft. Early reporting enables efficient evaluation of the event by maintenance personnel and it can allow the aircraft to more rapidly return to service when the required maintenance tasks are completed.

Cargo compartment linings are designed to provide an air-tight space, and are essential in protecting the aircraft and its occupants from fire and smoke.This article looks at how these composite components have come to play such an important role in Safety, and what can be done to make sure they stay in good condition.

The dispatch under a Minimum Equipment List (MEL) item enables the dispatch of an aircraft in a safe and airworthy condition when certain system functions or equipment are temporarily unavailable or inoperative. This enables the aircraft to continue earning revenue without compromising the safety of the flight.However, what are the MEL principles and are there good practices to apply when dispatching an aircraft with an MEL item in the technical logbook?

The best position for a pilot to fly is not left to chance. It is the result of detailed analysis and design that provides the optimum seating position for both the Pilot Flying (PF) and the Pilot Monitoring (PM) to safely and comfortably operate their aircraft.

There are currently around 33 million commercial flights a year and this figure is expected to double in the next 15 years. An aircraft arriving safely at its destination, and within a predictable time, is an expectation of both its crew and passengers. A growing number of apps are also available to the public that show an aircraft’s journey from departure to arrival, even providing seemingly real-time data for an aircraft’s speed, altitude and heading. With the technological leaps that have provided all of this information to hand and visible on our smart phones, it is not unreasonable for members of the public and media to ask, “How can we lose track of a large aircraft flying today?”

Falling from an aircraft can cause serious injuries to people.Specific safety equipment is installed on Airbus aircraft, and when used correctly, can prevent falls from height. This article describes the available safety equipment for Airbus aircraft and recalls the basic safety precautions that will help to avoid falling from height injuries to everyone on the aircraft.

As moveable structural components such as control surfaces and landing gear doors age, wear of hinges and actuators can sometimes lead to airframe vibrations. These vibrations can cause noise and physical discomfort in the passenger cabin.To prevent further deterioration of components, the cause of vibration should be quickly identified and removed. For this, maintenance personnel require Flight Crew to make observations of the vibration using a Vibration Reporting Sheet (VRS).A clear understanding of how to complete the VRS is important before starting the observations. Some parts of the VRS require manual control inputs with Autopilot OFF and therefore cannot be performed in RVSM airspace.

This article is the conclusion of our theme of speed management during a flight, which began in Safety first Issue #18. We are entering into the descent phase. Our objective is to cover descent from cruise altitude down toward the destination airport and prepare the aircraft for its approach and landing.This article aims to highlight how the reference, limit and operating speeds are useful during descent, approach and landing. It also provides a description of the tools that are available and operational recommendations on how to manage the aircraft energy during the last phases of flight.

During an approach at night-time into Glasgow Airport, the crew of an easyJet A319 experienced a strong cross-wind and turbulent conditions, which created a WINDSHEAR alert and led them to perform a go-around.As they did this, PFD information including Flight Modes Annunciator, Flight Director bars, and characteristic speeds all disappeared from both PFDs. In addition, the rudder travel limiter function became unavailable, and the auto-thrust disconnected. The crew was facing a very challenging situation, and needed to use their training in back-to-basics flying and efficient Crew Resource Management.

The “all engines” go-around is a very dynamic procedure with high accelerations created by the application of TOGA thrust. Yet in-service experience has shown that as long as both engines are operating, a lower thrust can still be sufficient to perform a safe go-around.As a safety enhancement, Airbus has introduced the Soft Go-Around (SGA) function, which provides a reduced go-around thrust and associated operating procedures. This article will review how the Soft Go-Around function works, how it is activated, on which aircraft it is installed, and how to deal with a “mixed” fleet composed of aircraft with and without the function.

Historically the distinction between flying ILS/MLS and non-precision approaches was very clear. However, many new kinds of instrument approaches are now available and this makes the distinction less obvious. What remains true today for any approach is that disregarding basic flying techniques and procedures reduces safety margins.This article clarifies which technologies are available to perform approaches using an Airbus aircraft. It also emphasises the safety messages that are important to remember whenever flying an approach.

In recent years, there have been a number of flights where passengers or crew suffered injuries due to severe turbulence. In some other instances, the aircraft structure was substantially damaged following a hailstorm encounter. Clearly adverse weather can pose a threat to the safe and comfortable completion of a flight, thus it needs to be detected and avoided in a timely manner.

Pitot probes inlet obstruction will affect accuracy of the air data parameters calculated from its measurements such as the aircraft airspeed and Mach number. Pitot probes inlet obstruction on the ground can be caused by unexpected sources such as sand, dirt, dust or insect nesting activity. This is why it is important to think about when to install Pitot probe covers for an aircraft on the ground to protect its air data system performance.

Performing a 180° turn or U-turn on a runway may seem an ordinary maneuver compared to other phases of the flight. However, operational experience over the past 10 years shows that unintentionally leaving the runway while completing a U-turn can happen, even to experienced pilots, in any conditions, even on dry runway, on any aircraft type including the A320 family aircraft. A specific technique exists for such U-turns to avoid runway excursions.

With the introduction of a data loading function on A320 Family aircraft Flight Control and Auto Flight computers, managing the aircraft configuration entered a new dimension. Flying a certified aircraft now requires understanding not only hardware Part Numbers, but also less immediately visible operational software ones.

Today, Lithium batteries play a barely visible, yet essential role in both our daily life and aviation alike. Manufactured and handled correctly, Lithium batteries are safe. But production failures, mishandling, or not being aware of their specific characteristics can have serious repercussions.

Article Third article in the “Control your speed” series started in issue #18 of this magazine, our aircraft is now flying in clean configuration, travelling in cruise. The main objective is to manage threats to the airspeed and avoid speed excursions.

Briefing

The Aircraft

Guidance documentation

What does it take to be prepared?

Flying an aircraft manually at high altitudes, and therefore necessarily at high Mach number, is a completely different discipline to what it may be like at low altitudes. As it turns out, opportunities to experience manual flying at high altitudes are rare in a pilot’s career. Yet, regulations do require it in certain circumstances, such as when the Auto Pilot is unavailable.

Since the first A320 entry into service, very few events have involved undetected fuel quantity issues. Yet, coming across a situation where engines shut down by lack of fuel is a situation no one wants to experience.

Lateral runway excursions upon landing have long been rather low on the safety issues list. With the remarkable improvements in other areas, they are getting higher up and deserve careful attention. The analysis of real cases allows for drawing interesting lessons on these events and reinforcing prevention.

Second of a series of articles on the theme of speed control during a flight, which started in issue #18 of this magazine, we have just taken off and are now entering the climb phase. The main objective is to retract the slats/flaps at an adequate speed, while sustaining enough lift to accelerate and climb.

Weather plays a significant role in aviation safety and is regularly cited as a contributing factor in accidents or major incidents. Wind shear in the form of microbursts particularly, can be a severe hazard to aircraft during take-off, approach and landing.

To “feel” the aircraft response through the flight controls as being “heavier or lighter” than anticipated at take-off can result from a weight & balance inaccuracy. In fact, when the CG is out of the operational limits, the safety consequences can be far more critical than just a strange feeling.

Landing performance is a function of the exact landing runway conditions at the time of landing. A simple statement for a more complex reality. Indeed, knowing what exact contamination is or remains on the runway at a given point in time is often challenging.

One would not normally think of everyday life objects, apparently as inoffensive as a pen or a cup of coffee, as being a real threat to the safe operation of a commercial flight. Yet, leaving them unsecured or forgotten in a cockpit could rapidly turn them into real trouble makers…

PDAs may be considered by some people as noncritical, especially when the part is small. Yet whatever the size, they may represent a potential safety risk. Preventing them must be the single objective of the combined and coordinated effort of a number of actors.

No crew likes the idea of Unit Load Devices (ULD – containers and pallets) moving around in the cargo holds of their aircraft during flight. This type of occurrences may have multiple causes.

In September 2014, Airbus will inaugurate its new A350 pilots Type-Rating course. The drivers for this development were both the EBT (Evidence-Based Training) principles and an analysis of natural learning mechanisms.

Composite materials are increasingly used in aircraft design. The A350 XWB is the most recent illustration of this trend. Yet if the benefits of composite materials are not in doubt for airlines, some questions still remain as to their potential effects on safety.

One of the most critical decisions that every line pilot may potentially encounter during every take-off is to continue or abort the procedure; hence the essential need to properly monitor the airspeed during this phase.

Regulatory aircraft performance is certified as a set of performance models and aircraft physical characteristics that are built and validated from flight test data. While the primary purpose of these models has always been to allow computation of aircraft performance for dispatch, the models used to determine the in-flight landing distances during approach preparation are derived from the same testing. Part of this model, affecting both the accelerate-stop computation at take-off and the landing distance computation, are the characteristics of the braking system installed on the aircraft.This article explains which flight tests are involved in the identification of the system characteristics and how they are conducted.

Airbus recently performed some research on the quality of go-around execution. This involved examining nearly 500,000 approaches flown by many airlines from around the world.The results highlighted that in some cases crews are choosing not to apply the Airbus Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the go-around phase.Particularly when a go-around was performed above 1,200 ft, the flight crew often decided to adapt the engines thrust selection instead of setting TOGA thrust. Feedback from operators also indicates a similar tendency. As a result, Airbus received several reports of unexpected aircraft trajectories and energy management techniques during the go-around procedure.Therefore, it was decided to address these issues by:Better defining an optional thrust levers management tech-nique during the a go-around, as per Airbus SOP.Developing a “Discontinued Approach” technique that wouldallow crews to effectively “abort” the approach without selecting TOGA detent.The Flight Crew Training Manual (FCTM) and the Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM) were updated accordingly end 2013 (updates respectively in March and May 2014 for the A300/A310 and A380).

Flight Data Recording

Non-adherence to the correct aircraft wash-ing/cleaning and painting procedures regularly generate safety events. This article will illustrate, through real in-service occurrences, that even activities performed primarily to improve the appearance of the aircraft and better display the airline logo may affect the safety of operations. The lessons learnt from these events are common: washing or painting an aircraft must be done according to the published procedures and using the correct equipment. These are  specified in the Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM), Structure Repair Manual (SRM) and Tool and Equipment Manual (TEM).