Page 23 - World Airnews Magazine July Edition 2020

HELICOPTERS NEWS

HELICOPTER MAKERS TO

INSTALL 'BLACK BOXES'

ROLLS ROYCE

RESTRUCTURED

By Heidi Gibson

and unions about compulsory job losses.
All of this came shortly after the compa- ROLLS ROYCE IN AFRICA

o date the announcement by global ny announced it was undergoing massive Rolls-Royce civil aerospace division

has supported African aviation for
TAerospace, Defence and Power reorganisation. almost 100 years. Today the company
“This is an important step as we resize
giant Rolls-Royce that they will be forced our business to adapt to the impact of serves 20 operators, powering over 60
to axe around 9,000 personnel – about 17% the Covid-19 pandemic on the aviation widebody aircraft, with more than 50

of its global workforce – in the aftermath industry. We will unfortunately lose people aircraft on order. Roll-Royce powered

of the corona virus outbreak has left Africa who have worked hard to establish our ‘flying hours’ in Africa has increased by

largely unscathed. world-leading position”, said chief execu- over 50% over the last five years.

The cuts to its civil aerospace division tive Warren East. Rolls-Royce Power Systems business

came as the company offered a voluntary Rolls Royce civil aerospace business makes (includes MTU Solutions) provides

In this file photo released by the NTSB board – investigator Carol Hogan examines wreckage of helicopter crash near severance package to all sector employees and services airliner engines and generates innovative solutions ideally suited to

meet Africa’s rapidly growing societal
in the UK. A spokesman for the company
Calabasas, California that killed NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant, this 13 year old daughter and seven others said the cuts would mainly affect staff in en- half of the company’s £15bn annual reve- demands for energy and mobility.

nues. It will be hardest hit by the cuts.

gine maintenance and servicing operations. The company provides a range of
for the NTSB. encourage manufacturers to add more News first broke with the announcement But Rolls-Royce’s defence business will power generation solutions and capaci-

The NTSB's move is highly unusual. The recorders to their aircraft. of an expected 700 strong job losses at its not need to reduce staff numbers, said the ties for any electrification requirement.

company.

ederal safety investigators bypassed board investigates accidents but has no The NTSB made its request to Sikorsky, Inchinnan factory near Glasgow airport in “As part of the re-organisation, we will From standby power generation sets

Faviati on regulators recently and authority to make regulations; that falls to Airbus Helicopters, Bell, Leonardo, MD Scotland. This was met with widespread ensure that our internal civil aerospace sup- for hospitals and data centres to rural

urged leading helicopter manufacturers the FAA. The board said it recommended Helicopters and Robinson. The companies criticism and shock. ply chain continues to support our defence hybrid micro-grid solutions and highly

to install so-called black boxes that would flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders in did not immediately comment. The job cuts at its Inchinnan plant, near programmes,” it added. efficient power plants delivering elec-
2013 and 2015, but the FAA did not act.
Sikorsky manufactured the helicopter

help determine the cause of crashes such The request for image-recording capability that crashed in January near Calabasas, Glasgow Airport, will mostly affect people Rolls-Royce said it will also “explore any tricity to towns and cities.
as the one that killed former NBA star is new. California, killing Bryant, his daughter who service aero-engines. opportunities” to move personnel to its Rolls-Royce employ 120 people across

Kobe Bryant. The FAA has required flight-data re- and seven others. It did not have black Rolls-Royce said it was considering with- defence division. Southern Africa, with offices in Cape

The National Transportation Safety corders on helicopter ambulances since boxes. If it did, “that would have helped us drawing its services capability from the site The company said the loss of the staff Town, Johannesburg and a regional

Board appealed directly to six manufactur- 2018. In a recent statement the FAA said significantly in this investigation and other permanently. will contribute £700 million to a broad office in Zambia, as well as satellite

ers after the Federal Aviation Administra- it encouraged other helicopter operators investigations,” NTSB member Jennifer A spokeswoman said the company under- re-organisation which will save around £1.3 offices strategically situated to serve

tion failed to act on the board's recom- to use data-gathering systems and analyze Homendy said days after the crash. "It is stood this is "a terrible and devastating pros- billion per year. customers.

mendations to require the the information to improve safety. something we have recommended several pect" for workers and communities affected. Rolls-Royce said it plans to cut expendi- Rolls-Royce’s Defence business is

devices on most helicopters. In 2016, then-FAA Administrator Michael times over a number of years.” Further cuts to its operations in Derby, ture across plants and property, capital and a market leader in aero-engines for

The safety board said turbine-powered Huerta agreed that crash-resistant record- Pressure was growing on FAA to require and the East Midlands with other jobs in other indirect cost areas. military transport and patrol aircraft

helicopters should record data, audio and er systems provide additional information recorders on more helicopters even be- the Midlands in Solihull, Ansty and Tren- Cash costs relating to the restructuring with strong positions in combat and

images during flight. about the actions of helicopters and crews fore the Bryant crash, which is still under tham were also announced. will probably be around £800 million, the helicopter applications.

The NTSB identified seven crash investi- but said the agency would not require investigation. Indications are that the company is aim- company said, incurred over 2020-22. Rolls-Royce has a significant scale

gations between 2011 and 2017 in which them because it couldn’t calculate a The top Senate Democrat, Charles ing to cut a total of 3,000 UK jobs - almost a “This is not a crisis of our making,” said East. in naval markets across the world and

it said the lack of recorder information cost-benefit ratio. Schumer of New York, urged the FAA to fifth of its 50,000-strong workforce. “But it is the crisis that we face and we prides itself as the technical authority

slowed its ability to find potential safety “In today’s rulemaking environment, we require the devices last year after a heli- The aviation sector has been struggling must deal with it. Our airline customers for the through-life support of nuclear

issues. have no way of estimating the number of copter crashed on the roof of a Manhat- across the globe due to a plummet in and airframe partners have adapted and so power plants for submarines.

The more information we have, the lives that could be saved or the number of tan skyscraper, killing the pilot. Schumer demand for air travel after the corona virus must we.” Rolls-Royce defence division has re-

better we can understand not only the future accidents that could be prevented called the FAA’s inaction “cause for serious locked down borders and grounded fleets. He said that governments are trying to tained solid relationships with a number

circumstances of a crash, but what can be with the use of this additional data,” concern.” Q If the voluntary redundancy scheme does assist businesses, but they “cannot replace of African countries for many decades,

done to prevent future accidents,” said Huerta told the NTSB. Article courtesy: https://www.heraldpal- not attract enough applications, the com- sustainable customer demand that is sim- serving many forces, namely Algeria,

Dana Schulze, director of aviation safety He said the FAA decided instead to ladium.com/ pany will go into consultations with staff ply not there”. Q Tunisia and South Africa.
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