Jordan Aviation Safety Department

ISSUE 11_ 29..03.2021

JAV Safety Newsletter Inside this issue

1. Dangerous SAA Take Off Under Investigation The Purpose of this Newsletter is to keep you aware of the

latest news and updates related to 2. Things You Might Not Know About the industry, which will make us Airbus keeping high Safety Standard.

Issue 11_29-03.2021 _page 1-5 TechnologyDangerous at work SAA for Take you Off Under Investigation A flight is under investigation after a miscalculation almost caused a serious incident during take-off. The flight, which took place on February 24th, was heading to Brussels to pick up some COVID-19 vaccinations but almost crashed as it departed. According to reports, auto- What happened? matic safety features were responsible for preventing a catas-

The incident in question was very trophe. The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) nearly a serious disaster. A South officially launched an investigation into the events on February African Airways (SAA) Airbus A340 -600 was set to head from South 24th. The pilot and co-pilot of the flight reported the incident Africa to Brussels to collect COVID as per standard procedures. However, the SACAA said it -19 vaccines. However, it appears the crew seriously miscalculated should have been reported within 72 hours, but in fact, the the plane’s take-off weight by al- aviation authority only heard about the incident on March most 90 tons. The resulting error meant the plane was not traveling 17th. fast enough to take off safely.

Early reports suggest the Airbus’s safety features kicked in to override this; however, the aircraft is not designed to correct speed for flap retraction. As such, when the crew retracted the flaps, the plane went into what’s known as an alpha floor event. The plane was at risk of stalling during take-off. Luckily for the crew, the Airbus’s safety sys- tems again took over, adding more power and lowering the nose of the plane, thereby preventing it from stalling.

https://simpleflying.com/dangerous -saa-brussels-take-off-under- investigation/ Issue 11_29.03.2021 _page 2-5 Dangerous SAA Take Off Under Investigation Cont.

Why is it such a serious incident?

The incident is being called “extraordinarily dangerous” by

the SACAA. Although no passengers were onboard and the safety procedures meant no one was harmed or close to Many have criticized the SACAA for allowing the flight to take off at all being harmed, the SACAA seems more concerned with the and have accused the governing body serious miscalculation. of giving SAA special treatment. The flight was allowed to take off after exemptions were granted. It was a According to reports, the pilot did not have the correct one-off to get vaccines, and so was number of recent flight hours to be operating the flight, allowed to go ahead. The SACAA denies favoritism and says it takes which caused a delay before the incident occurred. SAA each case individually and is investi- planes have mostly been grounded due to the pandemic and gating the incident now it has been made aware of what happened. ongoing financial issues, which have meant few pilots have been flying regularly. The new allegations of special treatment for SAA come within weeks of fresh allegations from mem- bers of the South African parliament. Some MPs claim the government is providing too much funding to save the when it should be allowed to collapse. How much finance should be awarded to the airline is contentious, but providing exemp- tions from safety regulations raises more serious questions about SAA’s legitimacy.

Issue 11_29-03.2021 _page 3-5

Things You Might Not Know About Airbus

We all know Airbus well as a major manufacturer of narrow

body and wide body commercial aircraft. It has competed with Boeing since the 1970s, with the two now forming a

dominant duopoly in the market. But what else stands out about this successful company and its aircraft? Here are 10 in- 2. The A320 was the first fly-by-wire aircraft teresting things you may not know.

There have been many improve- 1. The A300 was the first twin-engine wide body aircraft ments in commercial jets since their introduction in the 1950s. To- day manufacturers are focusing on Boeing’s first jet, the 707, had four engines. The 727 was a efficiency improvements, as well as trijet, and the 747, of course, was a quad jet. It launched the technology and passenger comfort. But looking back, one of the 737 as its first two-engine aircraft, but Airbus chose instead to most significant advances was the develop a two-engine wide body. The A300 entered service in switch to fly by wire technology. This essentially replaces manual 1974 with . Boeing’s first twin wide body, the 767, hydraulic controls with electronic did not enter service until 1982. controls. This worked for its business model. It was initially intended Airbus was the first manufacturer to introduce this, launching it on for European flights, although there was also interest from the A320 in 1987. Airbus has since used the technology on all aircraft, North America. With two engines, it was more economical. with Boeing rolling it out more And with the introduction of ETOPS rules in the 1980s, it slowly (and retaining more manual overrides over computer- went on to operate transatlantic as well. controlled actions than Airbus).

Issue 11_29-03.2021 _page 4-5 Things You Might Not Know About Airbus Cont. 3. It operates one of the largest cargo transport aircraft in the world

Both Airbus and Boeing have large fuselage transport aircraft to move aircraft parts from suppliers around the world. Boeing’s Dream lifter (based on a 747-400 airframe) 4. All Airbus cockpits are the same is the largest by length and wingspan. Still, Airbus’s Beluga XL beats it for cargo volume. Commonality between aircraft is an important selling point for manufactur- The Beluga XL is based on an A330-200 airframe (its ers, enabling simpler cross-training of smaller predecessor, the Beluga, is based on the A300). It crew and lower cost of maintenance. offers an incredible 2,209 cubic meters of fuselage space. The Dream lifter manages 1,840 cubic meters. Since the A320’s introduction, Airbus has used an almost identical cockpit Interestingly, the impressive six-engined Antonov layout (and handling procedures) across An-225 is also smaller in capacity. This only has cargo both narrow body and wide body cock- space of 1,300 cubic meters. But it can carry the heaviest pits. load of any transport aircraft – with a maximum take-off weight of 640 tones.

On the A320 family, pilots can move between family aircraft. Between other types of Airbus aircraft, training is significantly reduced. This means pilots can be rapidly trained to fly new types, and can switch between aircraft for greater fleet flexibility.

REF https://simpleflying.com/10-things-about- airbus/ Aviation http://www.jordanaviation.jo/ https://www.facebook.com/JordanAviationTours/ Head Office- Um Uthaina, King Fasal Bin Abdulaziz Sreet Contact Us; [email protected] +962 6 55 01 760 Issue 11_29-03.2021 _page 5-5