The bill gives Boeing (NYSE: BA) a bridge, in case the express carriers need extra capacity, until it can develop a new freighter next decade. Multiple industry sources familiar with the process said FedEx (NYSE: FDX) and UPS (NYSE: UPS) joined Boeing in lobbying Congress for a reprieve from the January 1, 2028, production deadline. The legislation previously passed the Senate and will be sent to President Joe Biden to sign into law.

At face value, a split from international consensus would limit operation of freighters produced between 2028 and 2033 to the domestic U.S. market, but it’s possible some countries could permit access, according to experts. Freighters delivered before the end of 2027 aren’t covered by the enhanced carbon emission rules and won’t face any restrictions. 

Under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agreements, commercial aircraft manufacturers effectively can’t sell aircraft that don’t meet the 2028 carbon emissions standards. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted the fuel efficiency standard in 2021 with the FAA following suit in February.

Even if post-2027 freighters end up being limited to domestic flying, it makes sense for FedEx and UPS to buy them, said Tom Crabtree, a Seattle-based industry consultant and former Boeing market analyst, in an email exchange with FreightWaves.

“The 767-300 production and converted freighter provides the lowest trip costs of any widebody freighter in production today while simultaneously allowing service to smaller markets where 50 metric tons of payload, or more, simply isn’t needed,” Crabtree said. “They also have sufficient range to serve international markets to/from Europe and/or northern South America from the U.S.”

Boeing stopped making the 767 as a passenger jet many years ago. It also supplies a tanker variant for militaries. FedEx and UPS are the only customers for the 767-300 freighter. Traditional cargo airlines opt for used 767s that have been converted to a cargo configuration because they don’t have the consistent, daily volumes of integrated express carriers and can’t afford more expensive new models.

UPS was the launch customer for the Boeing 767 freighter in 1995. The parcel logistics giant has 88 B767-300s in its fleet, including 10 converted freighters, and 19 additional factory aircraft on order from Boeing. 

“We expect to receive all outstanding orders before that time,” said UPS spokeswoman Michelle Polk.

FedEx has 137 B767s flying in its network, with 15 more deliveries scheduled through mid-2026, according to the company’s latest statistics.

Aviation publication The Air Current was first to unearth the 767 freighter waiver, tucked away on page 1,038 of the FAA bill. The language doesn’t mention the 767 by name, but the maximum takeoff weight of 180,000 kilograms to 240,000 kilograms squarely fits the 767.

Boeing officials have increasingly signaled that they plan to develop a freighter version of the 787 Dreamliner as a replacement for the 767F, but the first delivery is expected to take at least eight to 10 years.

“The 767F continues to be the most environmentally sound mid-size freighter available. We are working with our customers and are in communication with regulators regarding the requirements for this market segment,” Boeing said in a statement before the vote. “As we look ahead to future medium-widebody freighter options, the 787 is a natural place for us to look. We continue to evaluate our options in this space and are listening to our customers. Any future decisions regarding whether to launch a new program, will be largely driven by customer needs and market demand.”

Without the exemption, FedEx and UPS could be limited to Airbus A330 converted cargo jets, a model neither currently operates, if they need more medium-widebody aircraft in four or five years. The feedstock for 767 conversions is drying up because passenger airlines like Delta and United are holding on to aircraft longer than anticipated in response to supply chain, manufacturing and engine-related problems that have delayed delivery of replacement aircraft. The airlines probably won’t be ready to let go of the 767s until “they are well beyond the age of conversion or have too many flight cycles and flight hours accumulated on them to make it worth a while to convert it,” said Crabtree.

The new law will enable Boeing to compete with Israel Aircraft Industries, which installs 767 conversion kits, and an Airbus subsidiary that rebuilds A330s into freighters, and give it time to bring a 787 freighter to market, said the former chief editor of the biennial Boeing World Air Cargo Forecast. And A330 conversion providers would be able to demand higher pricing without that competition.

“Express firms like the certainty of production freighters even though they are more expensive than conversions of the same airplane models,” he said. That certainty takes the form of more consistent delivery schedules and meeting of specifications.

FedEx and UPS put pressure on Congress to keep the 767 option open and keep the playing field level until Boeing brings out the 787 freighter, the sources said.

Many have interpreted the carve-out to the international fuel efficiency standards to mean that noncompliant aircraft will be prohibited from flying outside the United States. But there is no universal enforcement mechanism. ICAO’s carbon emission standard will be implemented by individual countries as new domestic regulations updating their system for certifying aircraft types. Production will essentially be banned starting in 2028 because noncompliant models will not be certified for sale by civil aviation authorities in their area of jurisdiction.

Countries that ban the sale of noncompliant models are likely to ban aircraft with an exemption from entering their airspace on the basis of having an unfair advantage.

But an aviation industry source, who didn’t want to be identified because of the political sensitivity of the topic, said FedEx and UPS access to airspace in foreign countries would depend on what individual governments are willing to accept. Smaller countries that typically follow FAA and European Union regulations rather than certify aircraft themselves might have fewer qualms with allowing exempted 767s to operate.

Boeing also continues to deliver 777 cargo jets to FedEx and other airlines around the world. The FAA reauthorization doesn’t provide a waiver for the 777, probably because it is a transcontinental aircraft that wouldn’t make economic sense to operate only in the domestic market.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on FreightWaves.

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The announcement came shortly after the agency sent a team of experts to Istanbul to investigate an emergency landing Wednesday by a FedEx (NYSE: FDX) Boeing 767-300 freighter when its front gear failed to deploy.

The NTSB will meet June 6 in Washington, D.C., to hear presentations from investigators, deliberate over the draft report, and vote on proposed findings, probable cause, and safety recommendations related to the near crash on February 4, 2023.  

A preliminary report said that a FedEx 767 freighter was only 150 feet above the ground when pilots realized a Southwest Airlines jet was preparing to take off on the same runway and aborted its landing at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (KAUS). The FedEx pilots also warned the Southwest crew to abort its takeoff. The FedEx aircraft veered sharply to the right and pulled up to avoid a collision.

In Turkey, the transport ministry said the aircraft, arriving from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (LFPG) on Wednesday morning, informed the control tower at Istanbul Airport (LTFM) that its landing gear failed to open and touched down with guidance from the tower, sliding to a stop.

Turkish authorities are leading the investigation of the incident, with the NTSB providing support. 

The aircraft involved is a 10-year-old Boeing 767. FedEx Express operates 137 B767s, more than any other jet aircraft in its fleet, according to the latest quarterly report. The airplane will be out of service for an undetermined period while the investigation continues and repairs are made, but FedEx has other planes in reserve.

FedEx said in a statement it was cooperating fully with investigators. No crewmembers were injured. 

Video of the incident shows the airplane’s back wheels touching down, followed by its fuselage, with sparks and smoke coming from its underside. 

Boeing is under public scrutiny for a series of safety incidents involving the 737 Max narrowbody and for production concerns related to the 787 Dreamliner. But manufacturers aren’t responsible for maintenance or other uncontrollable circumstances that could cause a malfunction years after an aircraft enters service.

Storm Recovery

Meanwhile, FedEx also had to deal with disruptions and damage from severe weather incidents in the United States.

The FedEx Express global air hub in Memphis, Tennessee, experienced “substantial” delays Wednesday night due to severe thunderstorms that created hazardous operating conditions, the company said in a service bulletin. It alerted customers that some packages scheduled for delivery on Thursday could arrive late. No damage was reported.

Meanwhile, a tornado slammed into a FedEx Ground facility in Portage, Michigan, on Tuesday evening, causing extensive damage. FedEx said some service delays are likely to be seen with inbound and outbound shipments across portions of Michigan, but it is diverting incoming shipments to lessen the impact on service. Several team members sheltered in place inside the facility during the storm. There were no serious injuries, the company said in a customer alert.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on FreightWaves.

The post NTSB to Deliver Findings on FedEx-Southwest Near Miss appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“The FAA has opened an investigation into Boeing after the company voluntarily informed us in April that it may not have completed required inspections to confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner airplanes,” the agency said in a statement to FLYING. “The FAA is investigating whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records.”

The FAA noted that Boeing is in the process of “reinspecting all 787 airplanes still within the production system and must also create a plan to address the in-service fleet.”

• READ MORE: Boeing Workers Reluctant to Speak Up, FAA Panel Tells Senate

Boeing stressed this is not an immediate safety-of-flight issue for the in-service fleet.

According to the company, the potential issue was discovered and reported by an employee at the South Carolina 787 final assembly plant.

Scott Stocker, vice president and general manager for the Boeing 787 program, sent an email to all employees praising their teammate for speaking up when he saw “something” in the factory that he believed was not being done right.

According to Stocker’s email, “the teammate saw what appeared to be an irregularity in a required conformance test in wing body join. He raised it with his manager, who brought it to the attention of executive leadership. I wanted to personally thank and commend that teammate for doing the right thing. It’s critical that every one of us speak up when we see something that may not look right, or that needs attention.”

• READ MORE: Boeing Ready to Buy 7.5 Million Gallons of SAF

Stocker said the company investigated the matter and learned that “several people had been violating company policies by not performing a required test, but recording the work as having been completed.” 

Boeing has a zero-tolerance policy for not following quality and safety protocols, Stocker said, adding that company officials informed the FAA about what they found and dispatched an engineering team to assess the impact of the misconduct. The team determined that although it didn’t create an immediate safety-of-flight issue, it will impact customers because the test “now needs to be conducted out of sequence on airplanes in the build process.”

In addition, the FAA said it will continue its investigation and “take any necessary action—as always—to ensure the safety of the flying public,” the agency told FLYING.

The post FAA Launches Investigation Into Boeing 787 Production Line appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Three members of an FAA-appointed safety panel created to review Boeing’s safety culture following 737 Max crashes appeared before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee in Washington, D.C., to review its findings in a February report that were critical of the aerospace giant. 

Also testifying Wednesday in a separate hearing on Capitol Hill was Sam Salehpour, a Boeing engineer and whistleblower, who told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s investigations subcommittee that more than 1,000 Boeing 787s should be grounded due to safety risks.

• READ MORE: FAA Critical of Boeing Safety Culture

“Good engineering wins the day, but you have to listen to them,” said Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.),  who also chairs the Commerce Committee, said during the hearing to determine if there are more steps the federal government can take to ensure Boeing aircraft are safe to fly. 

In 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed, killing all 189 on board. The next year, 157 died when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after takeoff. Following the incidents, investigators determined that both crashes were attributed to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, commonly referred to as MCAS, acting on false data from a single angle of attack sensor that put the aircraft into unrecoverable dives shortly after takeoff.

In response, the FAA grounded the jets worldwide for several months while the cause of the crashes were investigated. The investigation pointed to a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of the company’s management, and what was described as “grossly insufficient oversight” by the FAA. 

The FAA panel reviewing Boeing consisted of 24 members, all considered experts in their field. Among them, Javier de Luis, an aeronautics lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose sister was killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash. De Luis noted the panel spent a year reviewing 4,000 pages of documents provided by Boeing and interviewed 250 company employees at all levels of the organization, across six Boeing locations. The effort resulted in “27 findings and 53 recommendations” for the improvement of safety at the company, he told lawmakers Wednesday.

According to the panel’s findings, Boeing has made changes since the 737 Max crashes, but there is still room for improvement. Although management tells the employees to speak up if they have a safety concern, they are reluctant to do so, fearing retaliation. Others interviewed by the panel noted that their concerns—even when raised— are ignored.

An engineer, for example, warned Boeing about the potential for lithium-ion batteries aboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliners to overheat due to thermal runaway. The Dreamliner entered service in 2011 and was grounded by FAA emergency order in 2013 due to fires from overheated batteries.

“There exists a disconnect between the words that are being said by Boeing management and what is being seen and experienced by the technicians and engineers,” de Luis said.

Following the hearing, Boeing released a statement, saying it took the FAA review panel’s critiques “to heart and will act on their findings and feedback. Since 2020, Boeing has taken important steps to foster a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to raise their voice. We know we have more work to do, and we are taking action across our company.” 

According to the company, employee reports through its “Speak Up” portal increased 500 percent since January, which it said indicated “progress toward a robust reporting culture that is not fearful of retaliation.”

The FAA panel released its findings in February just a few days after a Boeing 737 Max 9 experienced explosive decompression when it lost a door plug in its fuselage midflight while en route to California from Portland, Oregon.

The accident resulted in a mass grounding of the aircraft and reopened questions about the manufacturer’s process and attention to safety, including the documentation of repairs made during the production phase. It was determined the bolts that hold the door plug in place had not been reinstalled after corrective maintenance on a line of rivets in the fuselage.

Boeing was given 90 days to issue a plan to address the results and recommendations. That deadline for release of the plan is May 28.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) noted there were no representatives from Boeing in attendance: “We should be hearing directly from Boeing.”

The 737 is not the only aircraft under scrutiny. The 787 Dreamliner is under examination as well. 

• READ MORE: Boeing Whistleblower Wants 787 Fleet Grounded

Salehpour, who has worked for Boeing for 10 years as a quality engineer, called for a global grounding of the 787 Dreamliners, saying the shortcuts he allegedly witnessed on the factory floor during the building of 787s and 777s that may have led to the misalignment of parts in the jet fuselage. In an interview with NBC, he suggested that employees took shortcuts that may have resulted in parts of the jet being misaligned, which could lead to metal fatigue and weakened fuselage.

Boeing pushed back on those claims.

“Extensive and rigorous testing of the fuselage and heavy maintenance checks of nearly 700 in-service airplanes to date have found zero evidence of airframe fatigue,” Boeing said in a statement Wednesday. “Under FAA oversight, we have painstakingly inspected and reworked airplanes and improved production quality to meet exacting standards that are measured in the one hundredths of an inch. We are fully confident in the safety and durability of the 787 Dreamliner.”

WATCH: Whistleblower Testifies at Senate Hearing on Boeing Safety Culture

The post Boeing Workers Reluctant to Speak Up, FAA Panel Tells Senate appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

I am often inspired by the real locations and weather I experience when I am on a real work trip. With ForeFlight by my side, it’s fun to test the realism of the sims and how they’re interpreting live weather worldwide. Both X-Plane 12 (XP12) and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS2020) do a pretty good job of keeping up with it and both have shown continual improvements. It seems each month the message forums are showcasing live weather questions, observations, frustrations, and praise. 

I feel the most accurate live weather award currently goes to MSFS2020 as most of the flights I take, with ForeFlight next to me, are startlingly accurate. The altimeter, visibility, and clouds are really spot on. Locations of rain or snow are pretty accurate too with virga and visual depictions often having me saying “wow.” 

I made my way westward recently from the East Coast to encounter winter spots. The first was a stop into Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (KCLE) using a 787 Dreamliner. KCLE is known for lake-effect snow and this day didn’t disappoint. Snow bands were flowing west to east, and my flight session, down the ILS to an eventual autoland, took me right in the heart of it all.

Various moments from the cockpit view included bursts of snow whooshing past, some varying visibility, and not a lot of turbulence. Even as shown on ForeFlight, the snow showers ended east of the field near the city, allowing for an almost completely visual approach. As I got closer, some definite wind shear jibs and jabs made the wings bounce, something the 787 is famous for with its dampening, flexing wings.

Testing live weather was a success in this scenario. Let’s see the next one. 

I proceeded westward a few hours to the Dakotas and upon reaching there had some very windy weather and snowy bursts to contend with as well. I was using the amazing Learjet 35 I recently featured and it was a blast to feel this one out in surface winds gusting to 40 knots. The Learjet has enough fuel for about 1,500 nm tops, and in this case I traveled about 1,000 miles. I set out for a field in the North Dakota-eastern Montana area for fuel and aircraft change.

The somewhat higher elevations and wide-open areas with some gradual terrain will start making shear. The bumps were noticeable but not yet overly crazy. The wind flow over terrain effect within MSFS is remarkably accurate. 

For the next leg of the adventure, I chose the default Cessna Longitude bizjet, with more range and modern avionics to attempt a “visual” in horrendous weather, surrounded by dangerous terrain. Revelstoke, British Columbia, in Canada is spectacular as it gets, so I went to go check it out.

I vectored myself onto the arrival below the terrain. I would be landing on Runway 30 with the poor weather conditions, so I decided to use the modern technology at hand.

Following the 3D view with an eyesight-enhanced vision system on the Latitude, I could see right through the clouds and snow, down the river in virtual visual conditions. Now, I don’t think pilots with this avionics package do this yet, but I could see someday in the not too distant future the ability to just fly a visual approach in something horrendous.

I was led right down the shoot to the breakout point and runway in real visual conditions at a low altitude I would say was near ILS minimums.

In the real Challenger 300 I fly, similar to the Longitude, the reversers are so effective and rev up to such a high percentage, we don’t even touch the brakes until almost walking speed or something under 40 knots.

MSFS has great icing modeled with effects on performance. It doesn’t always come off cleanly, and sometimes even windows don’t get cleared very rapidly.

Continuing the adventure, I got into an A321neo (LatinVFR available on sim marketplace) for the rest of the journey westward. There is no better, more scenic place than Juneau, Alaska, and an unusual weather event was occurring at the time—clear skies! Alaska in winter is usually terrible with huge rain storms likely along the coast or wet snow blizzards. Apparently a cold snap following some heavy snows was occurring the day I tried this, and the built-in live weather matched the conditions almost to a T.

I have to stop somewhere, because the adventuring available in Alaska is endless. Maybe I’ll do this  again later this winter as there is so much to discover and tinker with. Setting up manual weather to something wild and dangerous is also fun, especially in mountainous regions. Using the variety of GA aircraft available in the sims opens up a whole new avenue of bush flying, where icing dangers are more noteworthy. 

As always, I have to link the “must-haves” as you fly: 

FS Realistic Pro for the best add-on ever made.

Sporty’s Pilot Shop for all the flight controls imaginable and an easy home setup.

ProDeskSim for the coolest affordable add-ons to the Honeycomb throttle quadrant that will leave you drooling. 

The post Testing Live Weather and Winter Wonders Along the Way appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Dreamliners that are already in service have not been grounded, and the company said it is continuing to manufacture new 787s while the immediate safety concerns are being addressed.

• Read More: FAA Allows Boeing To Resume 787 Dreamliner Deliveries

Boeing said it “discovered an analysis error by our supplier related to the 787 forward pressure bulkhead. We notified the FAA and have paused 787 deliveries while we complete the required analysis and documentation,” Reuters reported. 

Delivery of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft was previously halted from the second quarter of 2021 to August 2022, due to concerns raised by FAA about flaws revealed in safety inspections. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, the current halt began on January 26. The current issue is unrelated to the 2021-2022 safety concerns, according to Reuters. 

The post FAA Documentation Concerns Halt Boeing 787 Deliveries appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The Australian airline Qantas is celebrating its 100th year in business throughout 2020, and the company started out the festivities this month with an impressive flight. The airline’s brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner took a mega flight from London, England, to Sydney, Australia, flying over 11 countries. The Dreamliner, the tenth in Qantas’ fleet, was painted with a special centennial livery and named Longreach “after the Queensland town integral to our beginnings and its role in conquering the tyranny of distance,” Qantas said. The name was previously used for the company’s retiring 747-400 series of jets.

The name is not the only link between the company’s 787s and 747s: Qantas completed the same journey from London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) in 1989, flying the company’s first Boeing 747-400. That flight carried 23 passengers and took 20 hours and nine minutes to complete.

According to a report on CNN, Captain Helen Trennery headed up the Dreamliner flight, which carried 52 passengers (including press and Qantas employees, including the company’s CEO Alan Joyce) for 19 hours and 19 minutes. The airplane had one hour and 45 minutes’ worth of fuel when it landed in Sydney.

This was the second of three ultra-long-haul research flights aimed to improve wellness for the crews on such lengthy assignments. All flights are repurposed delivery flights, and Qantas says it is offsetting their carbon emissions. The project has been named Project Sunrise and, in addition to the crew research, the routes flown are under consideration for future availability. The first Project Sunrise flight took place in October and flew from New York to Sydney. It was the first time a commercial airline had completed that route, according to Qantas. The final research flight, planned in December, will repeat the New York to Sydney leg.

Qantas officially began its 100th year on November 16. Along with special celebrations, Qantas is offering special pricing for flight all over the world. For example, flights from Los Angeles to Sydney are available for as little as $100 per leg.

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