Dear readers, thank you for being with us all this year, reading our stories and opinions. It was really an exciting and full of occurrences year for aviation. Let’s make a quick review.
Accidents
Sadly, but this topic should still be discussed, as in 2015 fatal aviation accidents hasn’t been avoided. According to the Aviation Safety Network (http://aviation-safety.net/) data, there have been 170 aviation occurrences in 2015 with 820 fatalities in total, while in 2014 aviation suffered 177 times bringing 1218 fatalities.
When talking about the biggest accidents, Germanwings flight 4U9525 departed from Barcelona should be mentioned. Sadly, but it never reached its destination as it got destroyed by a pilot flying into the mountains in southern France killing all passengers and crew members onboard. Another unfortunate occurrence happened on the 31st of October, when Metrojet Airbus A321 aircraft, flying from Egypt has lost the signal. Investigators reported that they believed the aircraft broke up in the air, while The Russian Federal Security Service stated on November 16th that the crash was caused by a terrorist attack killing 224 people.
Asia region still can’t shake off the shadow of the aviation accidents as TransAsia Airways aircraft ATR-72-600 crashed shortly after the take off (43 fatalities), Trigana Air Service crash of ATR 42-300 (54 fatalities), Indonesia Air Force crash of Lockheed C-130B Hercules (122+17 fatalities) has been witnessed during 2015.
EASA regulations and recommendation
The good news is that European Aviation Safety Agency put great effort working on the aviation safety improvements during 2015. Here are some worth your attention:
- Shortly after the Germanwings crash on March 27th, EASA issued recommendations for airlines to ensure that at least two crew members would always remain in the cockpit during the flight. Read more here
- On March 31st agency released proposal for amendments to Performance Based Navigation (PBN) safety rule, this marks a significant change in PBN operations regulation. For example instead of requiring operational approvals, new rules relies on improved pilot training and checking as well as effective and performance based operational rules. You can download the document here
- With Drones invasion to our lives EASA releases the Summary of Proposals for the Introduction of Regulatory Framework for Operations of Drones which is available in all EU languages. More about that you can find here
- In September EASA also published proposal for its new rules for pilot training on the topic of Loss of Control In-Flight. You can find the proposal here
- November 15th should be marked as the day when Just Culture aviation requirements came into effect in EASA countries. According to eurcntrol.com, “Just Culture” is a culture in which front-line operators and others are not punished for actions, omissions or decisions taken by them which are commensurate with their experience and training, but where gross negligence, willful violations and destructive acts are not tolerated. More about that read in our article.
News from manufacturers
Finally let’s move to probably the most exciting part: what new has been introduced by the market manufacturers in 2015? Actually there were some exciting movement in the market and here is just a short list:
- In March airbus finally revealed their medium-weight, twin-engine rotorcraft which has been promised for ages – H160. First flight has been made in June and the second prototype will be finished till the end of 2015. More details about H160 are expected in 2016 as well as the opened order book.
- 2015 has been remarkable for Airbus in terms of new models. This year commercial service has been entered by A350 XWB. It is one of Airbus’ all-new family of wide-body aircraft that is shaping the future of medium- to long-haul airline operations – overcoming the challenges of volatile fuel prices, matching rising passenger expectations and addressing increasing environmental concerns. In addition to that, the re-engined A320neo won European and US type certification on the 24th of November.
- The Embraer Executive Jets presented newest mid-light jet, the Legacy 450 in 2015. It made its debut at the 15th European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE). In August it received US certification while EASA approved aircraft in September
