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Reports: Pilot Smoking Cigarette Caused EgyptAir’s A320 Jet to Crash!

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Investigations were released and reported that the cause of EgyptAir‘s flight #MS804 crash was the lit of a cigarette by one of the pilots in the cockpit that was ignited due to oxygen leaking from an emergency mask in the cockpit.

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How did the crash occur?

The plane that was operating EgyptAir’s Flight #MS804: Airbus A320-232 registered as SU-GCC Photo by:
András Soós
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19th of May 2016, a regular inbound EgyptAir flight operated by a 13 years old Airbus A320-232 registered as SU-GCC departed from Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris heading to Cairo International Airport (CAI), onboard 66 people including the flight crew (56 passengers and 10 crew members). The plane departed at 23:19 from CDG but didn’t arrive in Cairo as scheduled at 03:15 morning the next day. According to the reports; last contact between the crew of the plane and the ground was on 01:50 which was 39 minutes later after the plane enters the Italian airspace.

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At 02:26 the Greek controllers tried to contact the #MS804‘s crew, inviting them to get in touch with the Egyptian controllers as the plane was entering the Egyptian airspace “but does not get a response” writes the French investigation. Three minutes later (at 02:29), the plane disappeared from the radar, after noticing two sharp turns – one 90 degrees to the left and one 360 degrees to the right.

Photo by: dailymail.co.uk
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Investigations and Results

A lifejacket is pictured, having been recovered from the wreckage found in the sea north of Egypt after flight #MS804 crashed in 2016 Photo source: Anadolu
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All who were on board has been killed as the plane has crashed in the Mediterranean sea, south of Crete, and according to the initial reports and investigations; the plane sent seven “dispatches” in two seconds before smashing into the sea concluding that there was a problem with the cockpit windows, the existence of smoke in the front bathroom and a total stop of two operational crucial systems for the plane and the wings. After the crash, the France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) initially suspected that a mechanical failure that let to EgyptAir’s loss but on the other hand, the Egyptian authorities refused to publish a report on the sorrowful crash claiming that the incident for them is an act of terrorism however Paris disagreed and proceeded with the investigation.

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Egyptian authorities refused to publish a report on the sorrowful crash claiming that the incident for them is an act of terrorism Photo by: REUTERS
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In 2018 BEA reported that the crash occurred due to a fire onboard the plane upon analyzing the data of the black box but couldn’t identify a specific reason for how the fire was ignited. But four years later, in April 2022, a new 134-page report that the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera has exclusively viewed that the main reason for the ignition of the fire onboard MS804 was that one of the pilots had lit a cigarette in the cockpit (which was at that time not a forbidden action by EgyptAir), unluckily an EgyptAir’s maintenance worker replaced the co-pilot’s oxygen mask three days before the crash, the worker left the slider that manages the airflow in the “emergency” position. According to the Airbus manual; when the mask’s airflow is kept on this mode “an oxygen leakage could occur“, which is what has exactly happened.

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The final report included the leakage of oxygen from the co-pilot’s oxygen mask and the smoke of the cigarettes that were lit by one of the pilots caused oxygen combustion that ignited the cockpit during the flight. Photo source: SimFlight

An oxygen leakage from the co-pilot’s oxygen mask combined with the “habitual” action of smoking from the Egyptian pilots in the cockpit would have caused the oxygen to combust, therefore the cockpit ignited at an altitude of 11,278 meters above sea level causing the crash of EgyptAir’s flight #MS804.

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So far, the reason behind leaving the oxygen mask in the emergency position by the maintenance worker is undetermined mentioning that a report mentions that “the replacement of the oxygen mask requires careful checking, given the danger of oxygen leakage“.

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Some of the passengers’ belongings and parts of the wreck of EgyptAir flight #MS804 are seen as more wreckage found north of Alexandria, in Egypt on May 21, 2016 – Photo source: Getty Images
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Moreover, the French report mentioned that the pilots were feeling exhausted and tired by the time of the incident, however, all the investigations show that the working hours of the pilots, were acceptable to fly and won’t affect their performance to do their job. The dossier was sent a month ago to the Court of Appeal of Paris which is investigating “manslaughter” because among the victims there are also 12 French compatriots.

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Is it now the flight crew’s fault?

Flight #MS804’s pilots – Source: Corriere della Sera 

However it was, by the time of the crash, eligible to smoke onboard and during flights in EgyptAir, adding to that, the maintenance worker was the one who kept the oxygen mask on that dangerous mode, but the pilots of EgyptAir’s flight #MS804; Mohammed Shokair and Mohammed Assem should have detected the faulty masks before taking off, said by Daniele Veronelli, an A320 pilot and a member of Italy’s national association of commercial aviation pilots:

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When we go into the cabin, among the various checks we make before taking off is to check the flow of oxygen in the masks, if the switch is in the normal position, the flow of oxygen is on request. If it’s on the emergency setting, it will release oxygen at a greater pressure to blow away the smoke that could be in the cabin if there’s a fire on board.”Captain Daniele Veronelli, an A320 pilot and a member of Italy’s national association of commercial aviation pilots, told Corriere Della Sera.

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Victims

According to the reports, out of the passengers who were killed due to the crash; 10 crew members, 30 Egyptians, 12 French tourists, two Iraqis a Canadian, and a Briton.

People attended an event in Egypt’s capital Cairo on May 19, 2017, marking the first anniversary of the crash of EgyptAir MS804 – Source: AFP
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According to Corriere Della Sera‘s newspaper: “The Egyptian civil aviation authorities and EgyptAir did not respond to the Courier’s questions”. BEA says that in their initial investigation released in 2018 “a fire that broke out in the cockpit during the cruise phase that led to the loss of control of the jet” was the most likely supposition.

So far, according to the Italian newspaper; this 134-page report by the BEA is not yet released to the public.

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Sources:

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Youssef is the president and founder of Aviation for Aviators; in addition to his role as Chief-in-Editor of the platform's website, Youssef is currently pursuing an engineering degree at Nile University in Egypt. With his unique blend of passion, expertise, and entrepreneurial spirit, Youssef is passionate about combining these traits with aviation to provide a unique resource for aviation enthusiasts and professionals alike.

airbus

The Story of the A220, how it Came About and How it’s Becoming Popular

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Forbes

Aside from the fact that the Airbus A220 is the only airbus aircraft to not have a 3 in its name, the A220 is special from the fact that it isn’t fully made by Airbus, but instead a joint venture between them and Bombardier. This is all because of what some might call a mistake made by Boeing, causing Airbus to acquire a 50.01% stake in the company. In this article I explore its controversial creation, and why it’s needed.

Creation

The Airbus A220 was first named the “CSeries” by Bombardier, and was meant to cater to the demand of small aircraft in between their current-sized fleet and those larger already made by Airbus and Boeing. The particular area where it was expected to boom were the US markets, given there is always demand to be flying from small airports as there is no lack of them in the large country. At first, things were running smoothly and it was expected to enter commercial service in 2014, just one year after its first flight. However, things turned out not to go as planned, and the CSeries encountered issues on one of its test flights, causing it to miss the Farnborough air show, the largest in the industry, and delay its release. This was not good for the aircraft, nearly causing the project and the company to go bust, until financial aid was provided by the Canadian government.

(Credit: Simple Flying)

Boeing’s crucial mistake

Eventually, these problems were fixed, and the first CSeries was delivered to SWISS on June 26, 2016. Eventually, more orders began to come for the new aircraft, including the critical ones in the US. In fact, Bombardier was offering Delta 75 of the aircraft at $20 million a piece, a price which was even lower than the cost to build them, and a cost which was just too good to refuse. However, this was contested and was seen to be Dumping, when a manufacturer essentially gives away its aircraft as sort-of “Samples”, and is illegal in the US and other countries. Boeing was quick to take action, claiming that it was stealing the market from its 737s, despite the fact that Delta had explicitly said that they weren’t looking to purchase the variants that Boeing were claiming to be losing out. It was then decided that, given Bombardier was a foreign company, the US government would impose a 300% import tariff, something near-destructible for the company.

(Credit: Aviation Week)

Airbus saves the day

However, Airbus decided to step in and acquire a 50% stake in the company, something beneficial for both parties concerned. This was good for Bombardier, as Airbus has its final assembly station situated in Alabama in the US, meaning that seen as the aircraft technically wasn’t foreign, the import tariff wouldn’t be imposed on it. This would also help Airbus, as it would mean that the company would now profit off of an aircraft which had no competitors at the time. This allowed the aircraft to be reintroduced to the US market, allowing it to thrive.

(Credit: Aviation Week)

Where it is now

Now, the CSeries has been re-branded to be the Airbus A220, a move which has knocked it out of the park for the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer. This has allowed airbus to spend absolutely no money on development, and come away with an excellent aircraft, which is dominating its playing field. As of April 2023, 251 aircraft have been delivered, with another 785 firm orders. The airlines operating the aircraft include Delta, JetBlue, SWISS and airBaltic, who operate a fleet solely made up of the A220. When Aviation for Aviators asked their CEO, Martin Gauss, about the aircraft, he said that “The aircraft has performed beyond the company’s expectations, delivering better overall performance, fuel efficiency, and convenience for both passengers and the staff.”

(Credit: Wikipedia)

Sources:

  • Wendover Productions
  • Simple Flying
  • airBaltic
  • Delta
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Airlines of the World

An interview with Helvetic Airways CEO, Tobias Pogorevc

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Helvetic Airways is a Swiss airline which operates its fleet of Embraer aircraft to destinations such as Greek islands and the Egyptian Red sea coast from their hubs in Switzerland. Their CEO, Tobias Pogorevc, has been in charge of the company since 2018 and overseen major developments such as the introduction of the Embraer E195 E2 and E190 E2 to their fleet. I put some questions to the man himself about the environment and the pandemic.

What do you see as the biggest challenge to the aviation industry at the moment?

One of the biggest challenges in the entire aviation industry is the staff situation. The pandemic
disrupted the entire aviation ecosystem and the situation is still very tense in the personnel area – both
on the ground and in the air. Helvetic Airways was able to counteract the natural fluctuation in the
cabin through early recruitment measures. In addition, as of the beginning of 2023, Helvetic Airways
has significantly expanded its existing and very popular part-time models for cabin crews, and now
offers various innovative models with “Fly your way”, in which cabin attendants can determine their
own assignments on a weekly, monthly or annual basis. Today, we employ over 240 flight attendants
and senior flight attendants in the cabin crew – more than ever before in the history of Helvetic
Airways.
In the cockpit, we benefit from the good and long-standing cooperation with our sister company
Horizon Swiss Flight Academy. From this pool, we were able to recruit 24 pilots this year.
Another challenge relates to supply chains, from carpet suppliers to engine manufacturers. This will
keep the industry busy for a long time to come.

(Image credit: Aviator Newsroom)

How are you lessening the impact of Helvetic’s aircraft?

Helvetic Airways has renewed almost its entire fleet between 2019 and 2021 and now has 12 state-of-
the-art Embraer E2s – eight E190-E2s with 110 seats and four E195-E2s with 134 seats – and four
Embraer E190s. Helvetic Airways thus operates one of the most modern regional jet fleets in Europe
and the most modern fleet in Switzerland. The Embraer-E2 is currently the most environmentally
friendly regional aircraft on the market. Compared to the E1, the E190-E2 consumes 20 to 23% less
fuel per seat on European routes and the E195-E2 up to 30% less. Our own measured values are
even higher than Embraer’s factory specifications.

The E2 also sets new standards in terms of noise emissions, impressing in particular with its low noise
levels both inside the cabin and outside. The noise diagrams for departures from Zurich Airport show:
The noise contour of the Embraer E195-E2 is 28% lower than for the Airbus A319 and 60% lower than
for the Airbus A320. Particularly for airports near densely populated areas, the ability to reduce the
noise impact on people is an important factor.

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What lessons did you learn from the pandemic?

In aviation, crisis situations are regularly trained for, but no one was prepared for a global crisis like the
Corona pandemic. We kept all our crews current during the pandemic so that we would be ready when
business picked up again. In retrospect, that was absolutely the right decision. But then the restart
happened faster than expected. On the one hand, we all had to get back to the “old normal” as quickly
as possible; on the other hand, the pandemic was not yet over – a balancing act that placed enormous
demands on the entire industry.
The pandemic showed us that even when things are at a standstill, you always have to keep moving.
As an airline with lean structures, we have the opportunity to implement new ideas and innovations
quickly, which proved its worth during the restart after the pandemic.

(Image credit: Aviation24be)

How is the Russo-Ukrainian war affecting Helvetic Airways’ business?

The Ukraine war and the fates associated with it are terrible but have no immediate impact on us as a
regional airline from an operational point of view. Our routes do not pass over Russian or Ukrainian
territory, which may not be flown over at present. What we do feel, however, are the indirect effects of
the war, for example on the fuel prices.

You have been CEO of the company since 2018, what has been the biggest change you have seen in the company since you became in charge?

On the one hand, as a small, private company, the fleet renewal to an E2 fleet has been very busy for
us. It is something special that we, as a niche player, can rely on the most modern fleet. But this is
only possible thanks to the financial strength of our owner, which got us through the Covid crisis even
without government aid. Today, we are financially strong, with no liabilities.
On the other hand, there was the biggest difference in the area of human resources: the needs that
applied in 2018 are outdated today. Today, we need to offer innovative and flexible working models to
recruit the best young talent. Work-life balance, diversity, inclusion must not just be buzzwords, they
must be lived.

Mr Pogorevc has been CEO of the company since 2018 (Image credit: Helvetic Airways)

Helvetic airways operates a fleet solely made up of Embraer aircraft, why was the decision made to do this?

Before unifying to an all Embraer fleet, Helvetic Airways operated Fokker100 aircraft, an Airbus A319
and Embraer E1 aircraft, four of which are still in our fleet today. The cooperation with Embraer was
excellent from the beginning and the development of the E2 series progressed well also due to our
experience and input from Switzerland. So the decision was also obvious to carry out the planned fleet
renewal in 2019 to 2021 with the new Embraer E2 models. The Embraer E2 is an aircraft of the latest
generation and therefore the right aircraft for the future. The E2 consumes significantly less fuel than
the E1 and, especially in times of high kerosene prices, it makes economic sense to operate an
aircraft that saves 20 to 30% fuel on certain routes at high load factors.
Another key reason for choosing the E2 jet was the commonalities, which is particularly advantageous
in the areas of training and maintenance.
All our pilots are certified for both the E1 and the E2, and the maintenance in our hangar is also
certified for both types of aircraft. We operate the aircraft, we maintain it and we have our own flight
school, the Horizon Swiss Flight Academy, where we train our pilots and engineers – all from Zurich.
In other words, we have specialists for all areas: training, operations and maintenance – in effect we
have become the Embraer competence center in Europe.

(Image credit: Flickr)

And Finally, what can we see in the near future for Helvetic airways?

First and foremost, our goal is to continue to offer our partners, customers and passengers reliable
flight operations with top service. In doing so, we will continue to rely on our three main pillars of
wetlease, charter and scheduled flights. Furthermore, we want to remain a good and modern employer
for our employees. Due to our manageable size, we remain agile and score with innovation and a
family atmosphere with flat hierarchies. We will continue to promote this spirit. From April, for example,
the first “Helvetic shared apartments” will be ready for occupancy – apartments rented by Helvetic
Airways and sublet to employees who do not have their main place of residence in Zurich. These
colleagues should immediately feel at home in our Helvetic family!

(Credit: Helvetic Airways)

Cover image credit: Flikr

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Aviation

Brussels Airlines’ Female Crew on International Women’s Day 2023

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Brussels Airlines Airbus 320, painted with the Bruegel Livery. Taken at Ben Gurion airport.

On March 8th, International Women’s Day 2023, Brussels Airlines made history by operating a flight from Brussels to Marseille with an all-female cockpit crew. This milestone marks the first time that the airline had ever flown with an all-female cockpit crew, and it sends a powerful message of support for gender equality in the aviation industry.

Brussels Airlines is the flag carrier airline of Belgium and operates flights to over 120 destinations, with a fleet of more than 50 aircraft offering both economy and business class seating. The airline is also committed to sustainability and supports social initiatives through its charity program, b.foundation for Africa. Its subsidiary, Brussels Airlines Cargo, provides cargo services.

Captain Anne-Sophie Godart, First Officer Charlotte Verstraete, and Flight Engineer Virginie Dupon, all highly experienced pilots with a combined total of more than 25,000 flight hours, were the crew who operated the special flight. The three women were honored to be part of this historic event, with Captain Godart stating, “It’s an honor to be part of this flight and to be able to make a statement about gender equality in the aviation industry. We are proud to be able to show that women can do the same job as men, and that we can do it just as well.”

The flight was a success, and the crew received cheers and applause upon arrival in Marseille. It was a powerful statement of support for gender equality in the aviation industry, and a reminder that women are capable of anything men can do.

Brussels Airlines has been actively recruiting more female pilots and creating a more inclusive and supportive work environment for all of its employees. This flight was a proud moment for the airline, which is committed to promoting gender equality in the aviation industry and providing equal opportunities for all.

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As International Women’s Day 2023 is celebrated, it is a time to acknowledge the progress made in the fight for gender equality, but also recognize the work that still needs to be done. Brussels Airlines‘ all-female cockpit crew serves as a beacon of hope for aspiring female pilots and a symbol of progress for the aviation industry as a whole.

Let us soar higher on this International Women’s Day 2023, celebrating the fearless women who have conquered the skies and shattered stereotypes in aviation, inspiring generations to come.

Captain Anne-Sophie Godart, pilot of Brussels Airlines’ all-female crew, celebrates International Women’s Day 2023 in the cockpit
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