Boeing, FAA misjudged pilot response to 737 MAX trouble: government report

Yahoo – AFP, September 26, 2019

The NTSB said Boeing should correct plane design and pilot training to provide
clearer warnings of trouble (AFP Photo/ERIC PIERMONT)

New York (AFP) - Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration misjudged how pilots would respond to multiple alerts and alarms as they encountered trouble when flying the 737 MAX, according to a government report released Thursday.

The FAA needs to adopt a more realistic view of how pilots react under such scenarios as they certify planes, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

The report from the independent government agency comes more than six months after the 737 MAX was grounded globally following two fatal crashes which killed 346 people.

"We saw in these two accidents that the crews did not react in the ways Boeing and the FAA assumed they would," NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said.

"Those assumptions were used in the design of the airplane and we have found a gap between the assumptions used to certify the MAX and the real-world experiences of these crews, where pilots were faced with multiple alarms and alerts at the same time."

The NTSB recommended the FAA revise plane design and pilot training based on pilot response, and ensure clearer "failure indications" are provided to pilots to improve response.

An FAA spokesman said the agency "will carefully review these and all other recommendations" and that the lessons learned from the crashes "will be a springboard to an even greater level of safety" as it works to certify the MAX to fly again.

Boeing also said it will take the NTSB recommendations into account.

"Safety is a core value for everyone at Boeing," a company spokesman said. "We value the role of the NTSB in promoting aviation safety. We are committed to working with the FAA in reviewing the NTSB recommendations."

Airbus ups estimate of 20-year demand for new planes

France24 – AFP, 18 September 2019

Paris (AFP) - Airbus on Wednesday increased its estimate of the number of new aircraft needed over the coming two decades as airlines seek more fuel-efficient planes even as it trimmed its forecast for the increase in demand for air travel.

In its latest Global Market Forecast for the next 20 years, the European aircraft maker said it expects air traffic to grow by 4.3 percent annually, a drop from the 4.4 percent annual growth it forecast last year.

Nevertheless, Airbus now expects even higher demand for new aircraft than it did last year thanks to airlines increasingly retiring older planes for new ones that offer lower operating costs as they consume less fuel.

Airbus anticipates demand for new aircraft over the coming two decades at 39,210 planes, a rise of nearly 2,000 from its forecast last year, due a sharp increase in replacements. Unlike last year, it did not provide a cost estimate.

"Developments in superior fuel efficiency are further driving demand to replace existing less fuel efficient aircraft," said Airbus in a statement.

However, it scaled back the number of planes it expects airlines to acquire to meet growth in demand for air travel by more than 1,500 aircraft to 25,000.

Airbus said that nevertheless the annual growth of more than 4 percent reflects the resilient nature of aviation from economic shocks and its increasingly key role in the global economy.

"Economies thrive on air transportation. People and goods want to connect," said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International.

"Globally, commercial aviation stimulates GDP growth and supports 65 million livelihoods, demonstrating the immense benefits our business brings to all societies and global trade," he added.

The firm also stressed that with its latest more fuel efficient models it will help the airline industry limit its environmental impact.

"Airbus believes it will largely contribute to the progressive decarbonisation of the air transport industry and the objective of carbon neutral growth from 2020 while connecting more people globally," it said.

The airline industry aims to freeze its carbon footprint at its 2020 level thanks to more fuel efficient aircraft and through offsets like planting trees.

Crisis-hit Nissan CEO resigns amid pay probe

Yahoo – AFP, Etienne BALMER, 9 September 2019

Reports in Japan say Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa will step down over
issues with his pay

Nissan's CEO said Monday he will step down next week, deepening the crisis at the Japanese car giant still reeling from the arrest and ouster of former chief Carlos Ghosn's over alleged financial misconduct.

It is yet another blow for the firm that has seen sales plunge and been forced to slash jobs since Ghosn's stunning arrest for allegedly hiding part of his salary from official documents to shareholders.

Hiroto Saikawa said he would leave the company on September 16, following the results of an investigation into excess pay he received after altering the terms of a bonus.

Saikawa is suspected of improperly adding 47 million yen ($440,000) to his compensation under a scheme in which directors can earn a bonus if their company's share price rises above a certain level in a set period.

Nissan officials were keen to stress that there was no illegality but that he should not have delegated the task to a junior executive.

"At the end of the day, the operation which should have been carried out by the president himself was... delegated to others, which is a violation of the rules," said Motoo Nagai, a board member.

Saikawa admitted handing the task to a company secretariat and said he was "not proud" of this but insisted it was not the same as the misconduct of which Ghosn is accused.

He was it was "totally different from the intentional wrongdoing that was uncovered" during the internal Nissan probe into Ghosn and his right-hand man, US executive Greg Kelly.

The controversial "share appreciation" scheme has now been scrapped, the Nissan board announced.

Current chief operating officer, Yasuhiro Yamauchi, will take over as acting CEO on September 16, when Saikawa officially leaves, and Nissan hopes to find a permanent replacement by the end of October.

Alleged overpayments

The carmaker is currently undergoing an overhaul intended to strengthen governance after the Ghosn scandal.

In June, Nissan shareholders voted in favour of various measures including the establishment of three new oversight committees responsible for the appointment of senior officials, pay issues and auditing.

They also approved the election of 11 directors as the firm restructures, among them two Renault executives as well as Saikawa.

The reforms were designed to put Nissan on a more stable footing after the arrest of Ghosn, who has been sacked from his leadership roles at the Japanese firm and others.

He is awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting millions of dollars in salary and of using company funds for personal expenses.

Ghosn has denied any wrongdoing and accuses Nissan executives opposed to his plans to further integrate the firm with France's Renault of plotting against him.

'Dark side'

Saikawa, a one-time Ghosn protege, turned sharply against his former mentor after his arrest, referring to the "dark side" of the tycoon's tenure and accusing him of accruing unchecked power that allowed his alleged wrongdoing to go undetected.

But the CEO himself came under pressure in the scandal's wake, facing calls to resign from shareholders who view him as too heavily associated with the Ghosn era.

And while he resisted calls to step down immediately, he has always said he planned to hand over the reins after Nissan is back on track.

The Ghosn scandal has proved disastrous for Nissan, which in July announced that net profit plunged nearly 95 percent in the April-June quarter, and confirmed it would cut 12,500 jobs worldwide.

The Japanese firm has also struggled to steady its relationship with Renault as part of a tripartite alliance with Mitsubishi Motors that Ghosn founded and once led.

Asked how he felt towards his once-mentor Ghosn and Kelly, Saikawa said he believed their actions had put the company in the difficult position in which it now finds itself -- with hardship for customers, staff and dealers.

"This is the biggest responsibility... and I think they should think about this, they should feel bad about this. But they haven't expressed any apology for creating this situation," said Saikawa.

"I want Mr Kelly and Mr Ghosn to feel bad about the situation they have created."

Stripped-back auto show mirrors German car industry gloom

Yahoo – AFP, Yann SCHREIBER, September 8, 2019

Major foreign carmakers are shunning Frankfurt's International Auto Show this 

year, but climate protestors plan to attend (AFP Photo/Odd ANDERSEN)

Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - Frankfurt's biennial International Auto Show (IAA) opens its doors to the public Thursday, but major foreign carmakers are staying away while climate demonstrators march outside -- forming a microcosm of the industry's woes.

"There have never been so many cancellations by carmakers," said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer of the Centre for Automotive Research (CAR).

"The IAA is turning into a trade fair packed with problems," he added, in the image of the German manufacturers who host it.

Giants like Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen are seeing their engineering advantage and profit margins eroded -- even as the global economic outlook darkens.

The potential blow of US tariffs on European auto imports hangs over many carmakers, who have already suffered from an escalating Washington-Beijing trade confrontation due to their American factories.

Meanwhile three of the world's four largest carmakers will stay away from the IAA this year: the French-Japanese Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, Japan's Toyota and US-based General Motors (GM).

Other heavyweights like Italian-American Fiat-Chrysler and France's PSA have also absented themselves, as well as some of the best-known luxury brands.

The remaining manufacturers huddled in Frankfurt's massive trade fair complex have one major priority: stoking enthusiasm for new electric models set for release this year, as new EU carbon emissions limits enter into force from 2020.

Porsche expects well-heeled clients to fork over a hefty sum for its new 

battery-powered Taycan model (AFP Photo/Patrick Pleul)

Pricey targets

If manufacturers cannot squeeze the average carbon dioxide (CO2) output of their fleets below 95 grammes per kilometre, they will be fined a hefty 95 euros ($105) per excess gramme on each car registered.

After years of delay, German manufacturers still lag foreign competitors like California's Tesla on the costly research and development for electric alternatives that can score in the mass market.

Even at the high end, Volkswagen subsidiary Audi has failed to dent Tesla with its e-Tron electric SUV.

And stablemate Porsche is betting buyers will be prepared to fork out a massive premium over the Californian brand's top models for its new battery-powered Taycan.

That makes VW's Frankfurt launch of its ID.3 -- a compact all-electric car that it compares to the legendary Beetle and Golf -- of vital importance, as the tip of the spear in the sprawling conglomerate's 30-billion-euro electric offensive.

The first model based on VW's modular MEB electric platform, ID.3 "is almost critical to survival" for the company, Stefan Bratzel of the Center of Automotive Management told AFP.

"It has to be a success, the shot has to hit home, because a lot is riding on it."

Climate campaigners inspired by Swedish militant Greta Thunberg plan to stage 

major protests at the Frankfurt auto show this year (AFP Photo/Oliver Berg)

Marchers expected

Where big international competitors will be lacking, climate demonstrators are planning to make up the numbers at this year's IAA.

Thousands are expected to hit the streets Saturday, reaching the trade fair on bicycles or on foot, while a blockade is scheduled Sunday amid calls for a "transport revolution".

After taking on coal mining over the summer, the environmentalists are turning their fire on a sector that long seemed untouchable.

As Germany's biggest manufacturing industry employing around 800,000 people, the car sector was also protected through deep connections to traditional political parties.

But the winds are changing in German politics.

Climate change has shot up voters' agenda after a fierce 2018 drought and months of "Fridays for Future" demonstrations by schoolchildren, while the Greens are polling at unprecedented levels and made big gains in this year's European elections.

Meanwhile a years-long diesel emissions cheating scandal rumbles on, as a case by 400,000 car owners against VW over "dieselgate" opens in three weeks' time.

And on September 20, all eyes will be on Chancellor Angela Merkel's beleaguered coalition government in Berlin, as it unveils a comprehensive new climate strategy ahead of a UN summit.

Aussie newbie pilot lands plane after instructor blacks out

France24 – AFP, 2 September 2019

Sydney (AFP) - An Australian man venturing into the skies for a first flying lesson has been forced to make an "amazing" solo landing after his instructor blacked out mid-flight.

Max Sylvester's wife and three kids watched from the ground as air traffic control talked him through safely landing the Cessna two-seater at Perth's Jandakot airport on Saturday.

The 30-something had issued a panicked mayday call from an altitude of 1,900 metres (6,200 feet), after his instructor slumped onto his shoulder and could not be woken.

"Do you know how to operate the aeroplane," the air traffic controller in Perth asked urgently, according to a recording of their exchange.

"This is my first lesson," Sylvester responded, adding that he had never landed an aircraft before.

Realising the enormity of the task at hand, the tower responded: "The first thing that we are going to do is make sure that the wings stay level."

He was instructed to maintain altitude and to make a pass above the runway to get a sense of the terrain and become more at ease.

"You're doing a really great job," the operator reassures the trainee as someone more familiar with the aircraft was rushed to the tower.

"I know this is really stressful. But you're going to do an amazing job and we're going to help you get down to the ground, OK?"

Some twenty minutes later, the plane made a heart-stoppingly bumpy landing.

"You did it mate!" exclaimed the air traffic controller. "Well done. That's amazing!"

The instructor was taken to hospital in a stable condition and Sylvester received his first solo flight certificate from the instructor's employer, Air Australia International.

"This could have gone way, way bad," Air Australia International owner Chuck McElwee said, according to public broadcaster ABC.

"But everything worked out right, and it worked right, mostly because of the cooperation of the tower."