Report by John Vincent on the ICAO Assembly meeting held 24th Sept to 1st Oct 2019 in Montreal. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly meets once every 3-years. The Assembly is convened by ICAO’s Council.   ICAO’s 193 Member States and many international organisations are invited to the Assembly, which establishes worldwide policy of the organisation.  IFA was able...Read More

Documentary about the development of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet. The 747 was a game changer, the airliner that revolutionised mass, cheap air travel. But the first wide-bodied plane was originally intended as a stopgap to Boeing's now-abandoned supersonic jet. This is the remarkable untold story of the jumbo, a billion-dollar gamble that pushed 1960s technology to the limits to...Read More

I’m thinking a lot about what happened with the Boeing 737 Max. For one thing, 346 people died in two crashes less than six months apart in almost brand-new aircraft. For another, the crashes have led to the six-month—and growing—worldwide grounding of the aircraft. As far as I can recall, this is the longest grounding of a major aircraft type. It is critical...Read More

A key issue for the investigation into this tragic accident, which killed 9, will be whether the aircraft broke up in flight because the aircraft’s loading or flying exceeded the type’s certified limits.Read More

FAA Aviation MX Human Factors Quarterly Click here  – September Edition The September edition of the FAA MX Fatigue news letter this quarter includes: WHAT AVIATION LEADERS CAN DO TO FIX SAFETY AND QUALITY PROBLEMS – Dr. Marc Szepan Four leadership best practices – the Four A’s – for fixing safety and quality problems. HOW DOES A GOLDEN BOLT REDUCE FOD?...Read More

John Vincent, IFA CEO is currently in Montreal attending the ICAO Assembley meetings, "I am grateful to be accepted as an observer to this important international event in the aviation calendar".Read More

The right wing of the modified Cessna 210 failed in flight, from metal fatigue in the main spar carry-through structure. It’s another example of metal fatigue still being an insidious airworthiness threat, even (especially?) for aircraft types with a long service history.Read More

If you are a Licensed Engineer and have an EASA Part-66 Licence issued by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), be sure to check the guidance on whether you will be eligible to work on European Union (EU) Member State registered aircraft in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Read More

Link to the FAA website to read the latest updates as FAA and Technical Experts meet with Safety Regulators to Continue discussions on Boeing 737MAX.Read More

Performance-Based Oversight (PBO) of aircraft maintenance is both new and not new.  Industry and Regulators have always collected information to act on deficiencies.  Just complying with a set of rules is never enough to stay safe.  Now, the use of information gathered from multiple sources is being approached in a systematic way.  The one-day conference at the Royal Aeronautical Society...Read More