Aeronautical Science

  Insider Threats When you go to the airport for a flight, there are many measures TSA uses to insure passengers are not bringing illegal or harmful items on the flight. But, have you ever wondered if someone who works at the airport could be an inside agent who helps smuggle illegal items through security? This can happen through a screener who willfully allows drugs to go through a x-ray machine, or a airport worker bringing in firearms through a restricted door and handing it off to a passenger. TSA has been well aware of these threats and has many mitigation strategies they use to stop this from happening.     There are approximately 1.8 million airport workers across the United States who are closely monitored by security measure set by TSA. These measures include vetting prospective airport employees, restricting access to sensitive areas by badging restrictions, and randomly searching workers. In 2018, TSA started analyzing employees social media accounts ...

  Heathrow plane smashed into tarmac injuring co-pilot and ground crew after fault with landing gear On June 18, 2021, a cargo plane was set to fly from London Heathrow to Frankfurt in Germany when an issue with the landing gear was noted by pilots. While the pilots were preflighting the plane, a maintenance team took a look at the front landing gear and tried to fix the issue. They determined that fixes to the landing gear could happen at a later time, and as long as the doors for the landing gear worked, the flight could continue. In order to prevent the landing gear from retracting when the landing gear lever was in the ‘up’ position, downlock pins were placed on the landing gear. When the lead engineer placed the landing gear lever in the ‘up’ position, the landing gear retracted causing major damage to the front of the plane and the pilots sustained minor injuries. After investigatio n, they found that the downlock pins were placed in the wrong hole leading to the nose landi...

Volcanic Ash and the Effect on Planes Volcanic eruptions happen once a week all over the world, that is about 50 to 60 eruptions in one year. When these erupt, volcanic ash is ejected into the atmosphere which can cause damage to all types of planes. When volcanic ash comes into contact with a plane's surfaces, it can abrade the windscreen, fuselage surfaces, compressor fan blades, and lead to a loss in navigational and operational instruments. The melting temperature of ash in the ash cloud is also lower than the combustion temperatures in jet engines, which could lead to ash solidifying in cooler parts of the engine. This can degrade the engine’s performance to the point where the engine loses power. From 1953 to 2009, there have been 79 reports of aircrafts flying into volcanic ash. Twenty-six of those reports involved very severe damage to the aircraft, and nine of those encountered a loss of thrust. Luckily, in all nine of those reports, at least one engine was able to restart...

  Will labor strife led by pilots become the airline industry’s next big obstacle? Union pilots have been putting increased pressure on management after negotiations for a new contract were paused due to the pandemic. The last time Delta’s pilots negotiated their contract was in 2016 and renegotiation started in early 2019.  After it was paused, these pilots began to strike in hopes of a new contract. Now Southwest, American, United, and Delta have just started to renegotiate these contracts.  “ Three of those four airlines have accepted some form of tentative deals, but American and United pilots rejected pay raises of 20% or more before the contracts could even go to members.” (Arnold, 2023) The airlines have blamed the effect of COVID for not renegotiating contracts, but it has been three years since the outbreak, and another four years before that, and they are just now coming to an agreement.  I chose this article because I have seen first hand how these pilots ...