Tag: Oversight

KiwiRail announces changes to avoid repeat of Wellington rail disruption

September 4, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

September 3, 2023

KiwiRail has welcomed the Government’s rapid review into its handling of disruptions to passenger services in Wellington earlier this year and has already moved to change its systems.

Improvements made include:

Use of the TEC to achieve network compliance is now part of a wider Infrastructure Integrated Plan, with a longer-term (12 month) plan around its use nationally. While there have been detailed operating plans for each area the TEC assesses, this change introduces a national level of oversight, linked into when track safety cases expire.
Developing robust processes and procedures around the escalation, prioritisation and approvals required where the TEC schedule cannot be met.This is an important backup if it is looking unlikely the TEC will be able to carry out required work in time. The issues that resulted in the Wellington disruption were escalated too late for KiwiRail to take effective action to avoid the speed restriction being put on the Kāpiti Line.
Developing better resilience around the TEC, through a review of the tasks needed to ensure its successful operation – including a review of existing staff resourcing and formalising training processes. This is to ensure the TEC is able to operate effectively.
Reviewing the maintenance programme for the TEC. The TEC is 41 years old and will be replaced in FY2027. A procurement process for a new vehicle is well underway. The maintenance programme review, and any changes that come from it, will help ensure the TEC can continue operating reliably until the new vehicle arrives.

General Manager Metros Jon Knight says KiwiRail has made a huge commitment to the local commuter rail network, and will work hard to deliver on the Government’s investment.

Freighters To The Rescue: Korean Air Posts Q2 Profit

August 8, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Korean Air leveraged its cargo operation to turn a profit in the second quarter when nearly every other passenger airline has reported enormous losses after COVID-19 travel restrictions brought most flight operations to a standstill.

The South Korean carrier has one advantage that many pure passenger airlines lack – freighters. The company said it increased the operation rate of its freighter fleet and maximized cargo supply on passenger airplanes to generate an operating profit of $123.7 million and net income of $135.3 million.

Korean Air lost the ability to sell cargo space in the lower deck of passenger airplanes when travel demand sagged and it suspended most flights, resulting in a 92% drop in passenger revenue. The airline said it replaced that capacity by increasing the operation rate of freighters by 22% year-over-year through strict maintenance checks and oversight – increasing its total capacity by 1.9%.

The freighter fleet consists of 23 Boeing 747-8 and 747-400 aircraft, according to the airline’s website. It ranked as the sixth-largest cargo airline in the world in 2018, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Click the link below for the full story!

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/freighters-rescue-korean-air-posts-195548132.html

FAA Agrees Must Boost Safety Oversight for Southwest Airlines

February 11, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: A traveler checks her baggage at the Southwest Airlines terminal at LAX airport in Los Angeles

(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says it should have done a better job of ensuring Southwest Airlines Co <LUV> had certified completion of maintenance on 88 used Boeing 737 jets, as noted in a report by the U.S. Transportation Department’s Inspector General released on Tuesday.

Budget-friendly Southwest bought the planes in question between 2013 and 2017 from 16 foreign carriers.

The final report, first seen by Reuters, said Southwest operated more than 150,000 flights carrying 17.2 million passengers on the jets without confirmation that required maintenance had been completed.

The report said the FAA has not “effectively overseen Southwest Airlines’ systems for managing risks” and made 11 recommendations to improve oversight, including retraining inspectors and developing better control over maintenance records and inspector guidance on evaluating air carrier safety culture.

While the U.S. commercial airline industry is considered safe, with only one fatality in recent years, the FAA is under heightened scrutiny by lawmakers over its relationship with the industry after two crashes overseas on the newer Boeing Co <BA> 737 MAX killed 346 people and led to that aircraft’s global grounding.

“Given the significant unresolved safety concerns that FAA has identified at Southwest Airlines, it is clear that the agency is not yet effectively navigating the balance between industry collaboration and managing safety risks at the carrier,” the report said.

The FAA said in a response included with the report it concurred with all 11 recommendations and the inspector general’s conclusion that its office overseeing Southwest did not perform in accordance with existing guidance by allowing the 88 planes to enter service and that it “lacked a comprehensive conformity inspection for used aircraft.”

Southwest told Reuters on Tuesday that eight of the 88 jets remain out of service until needed repairs are completed and that it disagreed with the report’s findings.

The report chided the FAA, saying the agency “accepted the air carrier’s justification that the issues identified were low safety risks.”

The FAA noted it changed the leadership of its office that oversees Southwest and “continues to address deficiencies in the work functions and culture.” The agency has agreed to ensure Southwest “complies with regulatory requirements that the 88 previously owned aircraft conform to U.S. aviation standards.”

Last month, the Wall Street Journal published an article on a draft of the inspector general report.

The report also said the FAA violated its own guidance in addressing noncompliance by Southwest on baggage weight and balance data. The FAA agreed to ensure Southwest complies with requirements.

On Jan. 10, the FAA said it was seeking to impose a $3.92 million fine on Southwest for alleged weight infractions on 21,505 flights on 44 aircraft between May 1, 2018 and Aug. 9, 2018.

Southwest has said it is working with the FAA to demonstrate the effectiveness of its controls and seek a resolution on the proposed penalty.

Southwest shares closed up 0.9% on Tuesday, off intraday highs.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by David Gregorio and Matthew Lewis)

FILE PHOTO: A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 plane sits on the runway waiting to take off at LAX airport in Los Angeles

U.S. Transportation Department Office of Inspector General to Audit FAA Pilot Training Requirements

February 10, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General said on Monday it will audit Federal Aviation Administration pilot training requirements for U.S. and foreign air carriers after two deadly crashes of Boeing’s <BA> 737 MAX.

The audit will also review international civil aviation authorities’ requirements for carriers’ pilot training regarding the use of flight deck automation.

Pilots have been harshly critical of Boeing’s decision not to disclose details of a new automation system – known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS – that has been linked to both fatal crashes.

The Inspector General cited a report by Indonesia’s Lion Air that “responses to erroneous activations of MCAS contributed to the crash, raising international concerns about the role of pilot training.”

The report said Boeing’s safety assessment assumed pilots would respond within three seconds of a system malfunction. But on the fatal flight and one that experienced the same problem the previous evening, it took both crews about eight seconds to respond.

Boeing declined to comment on the new review.

The FAA said it would cooperate with the inspector general’s review. “Raising and harmonizing pilot training standards across the globe are among the FAA’s top aviation safety priorities,” the FAA said. “We continue to pursue expanded conversations among the world’s aviation regulators to identify ways to enhance international aviation safety through robust pilot training programs.”

Boeing has proposed new simulator training for pilots on a series of scenarios before they are allowed to resume 737 MAX flights.

The MAX is not expected to be freed to fly until late April at the earliest. In March, the department’s IG said it would audit the FAA’s certification of the Boeing 737 MAX.

The Trump administration on Monday proposed an additional $30 million in it 2021 budget “to improve aviation oversight, following recommendations from the Boeing 737 MAX investigations.”

The funding would support 13 new full-time positions for the creation of an office mandated by Congress to oversee the FAA’s delegation of some certification tasks to Boeing and other plane-makers. The FAA would also use some of the funds for data collection and for “technological advances that we use to assess safety data,” Deputy FAA Administrator Dan Elwell said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Dan Grebler)

FILE PHOTO: Aerial photos show Boeing 737 Max airplanes on the tarmac in Seattle

FAA Must Boost Oversight to Address Allegiant Air Maintenance Issues

December 17, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

An Allegiant Air MD-83 passenger jet takes off from the Monterey airport

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) needs to improve its oversight to address maintenance issues at Allegiant Air, the 11th largest U.S. carrier, according to a report seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The U.S. Transportation Department’s Inspector General, in a 31-page report sent to Capitol Hill on Tuesday but not yet made public, said FAA inspectors since 2011 have not “consistently documented risks associated with 36 Allegiant Air in-flight engine shutdowns for its MD-80 fleet or correctly assessed the root cause of maintenance issues.”

Ultra-low cost Allegiant, a unit of Allegiant Travel Co, said it had not yet see the report and did not have an immediate comment.

The FAA said in a letter attached to the report that it agreed with eight of the nine recommendations made by the inspector general and partially agreed with the remaining one.

Allegiant carried about 14 million passengers last year, serving 122 U.S. cities and Puerto Rico on 450 flight routes.

The inspector general opened the probe in May 2018 after a “series of in-flight engine shutdowns, aborted takeoffs, and unscheduled landings” raised concerns about maintenance practices.

The report said in-flight shutdowns at Allegiant “continued until July 2018 and were only resolved four months later when Allegiant Air retired the last of its MD-80 fleet.” Allegiant now flies an all Airbus fleet.

The report found in-flight engine shutdowns forced 21 Allegiant aircraft to return or divert to other airports between 2014 and 2018, but that regulators did not properly track engine shutdown risks.

A 2015 maintenance provider failure at Allegiant Air demonstrated “severe violations that represent unacceptable safety risks or could result in catastrophic outcomes should also warrant a more stringent oversight approach,” the report said.

The inspector general said the airline’s maintenance provider failed to insert a cotter pin on a critical flight control component that put some 30,000 passengers at risk.

The report said in August 2015, a pilot “almost lost control of this aircraft during takeoff when it unexpectedly tried to lift off prematurely” but was able to abort takeoff and land safely.

After inspectors proposed a 30-day suspension for Allegiant Air’s maintenance provider, FAA regional officials reduced the suspension to a compliance action. FAA inspectors closed out six of eight compliance actions before ensuring Allegiant Air actually took any corrective actions, the report found.

It also found that FAA does not provide inspectors with guidance and comprehensive training to ensure Allegiant Air takes appropriate corrective actions.

The FAA said it had “initiated compliance actions at Allegiant Air that have improved safety for the flying public.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Richard Chang and Bill Berkrot)

KiwiRail announces changes to avoid repeat of Wellington rail disruption

Freighters To The Rescue: Korean Air Posts Q2 Profit

FAA Agrees Must Boost Safety Oversight for Southwest Airlines

U.S. Transportation Department Office of Inspector General to Audit FAA Pilot Training Requirements

FAA Must Boost Oversight to Address Allegiant Air Maintenance Issues

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