Flight Safety Information - November 12, 2025 No. 226 In This Issue : Incident: Copa B738 over Caribbean on Nov 10th 2025, engine shut down in flight : Lockheed C-130EM Hercules - Fatal Accident (Georgia) :‘JumpseatSMS – The software that complies with all your SMS requirements’ : Boeing Trails Airbus as Jet Deliveries Hit 493 in 2025 : Is JetBlue Really Buying Spirit Airlines? : Why it may take years for air travel to recover from the government shutdown : Transportation Secretary says air traffic controllers who stopped working before missing pay could face consequences : GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY REQUEST : Calendar of Event Incident: Copa B738 over Caribbean on Nov 10th 2025, engine shut down in flight A Copa Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration HP-1539CMP performing flight CM-196 from Panama City (Panama) to Nassau (Bahamas) with 107 people on board, was enroute at FL360 about 170nm eastnortheast of San Andres Island (Colombia) when the right hand engine (CFM56) failed and was shut down. The aircraft diverted to San Andres Island for a safe landing on runway 06 about 50 minutes later. Panama's AAC reported the crew declared emergency after the #2 engine failed and diverted to San Andres Island. The AAC is gathering information to determine the cause of the incident. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=52f9b5b5&opt=0 Lockheed C-130EM Hercules - Fatal Accident (Georgia) Date: Tuesday 11 November 2025 Time: c 07:50 LT Type: Lockheed C-130EM Hercules Owner/operator: Türk Hava Kuvvetleri (Turkish Air Force) Registration: 68-1609 MSN: 382-4311 Fatalities: Fatalities: 20 / Occupants: 20 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Destroyed Category: Accident Location: near Sighnaghi - Georgia Phase: En route Nature: Military Departure airport: Ganja International Airport (GNJ/UBBG) Destination airport: Turkiye Narrative: A Turkish AF Lockheed C-130EM Hercules, operated by 222 Filo, flight HVK543, disintegrated mid-air and crashed near Sighnaghi, Georgia, shortly after departing from Azerbaijan. All 20 occupants are said to have died in the crash. ADS-B data from Flightradar24 indicates that the aircraft took off from Ganja at 10:19 UTC. The final datapoint recorded was at 10:49 UTC at FL240. https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/561817 Boeing Trails Airbus as Jet Deliveries Hit 493 in 2025 Boeing reported delivering 53 aircraft in October, bringing its total deliveries for 2025 to 493 jets. Meanwhile, Airbus maintained its lead in the global delivery race, handing over 78 aircraft during the same month and reaching 585 deliveries so far this year. Boeing also confirmed 15 new orders in October, signaling continued demand for its commercial models—particularly the 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner—and marking steady progress toward what could be its strongest annual total since 2018. “We delivered 39 737 MAX aircraft in October, including nine to Southwest Airlines and five to Ryanair,” Boeing said. The company also delivered one 737 Next Generation jet for conversion into a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft for the US Navy, along with 13 widebody jets: seven 787 Dreamliners, two 777 freighters, and four 767s. Boeing remains on track for its highest annual delivery total since 2018, when it shipped 806 aircraft—a record year before the grounding of the 737 MAX and subsequent safety and quality crises following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people. CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company’s commercial division “continues to prioritize production quality improvements throughout 2025.” Federal regulators recently authorized Boeing to raise its 737 production rate from 38 to 42 jets per month. Despite this progress, Boeing continues to trail Airbus, which has delivered 585 aircraft in the first ten months of the year. October was relatively quiet for Boeing’s order activity. It logged 15 gross orders—eight 737s and seven 787s—but also recorded cancellations for seven 737s, leaving a net total of eight new orders. The 787 Dreamliner program continues to see strong demand, with 320 orders so far this year, the second-highest annual total in the model’s history after 369 orders in 2007. Boeing is expanding its South Carolina production facilities to meet demand, with two Central Asian airlines recently announcing new 787 purchase plans. Through October, Boeing has secured 782 net orders in 2025 after accounting for cancellations and conversions, reflecting a steady recovery in global commercial aviation demand. Meanwhile, Airbus continues to lead the global delivery race. The European manufacturer delivered 78 aircraft in October, bringing its total to 585 for 2025. Airbus aims to deliver around 820 commercial aircraft by year-end, requiring approximately 235 additional deliveries in the final two months. The company’s October deliveries included 522 single-aisle jets from the A220 and A320 families and 63 widebody aircraft from the A330 and A350 lines. Airbus also recorded 112 gross orders in October, bringing its total to 722 for 2025, with 625 net orders after cancellations. The manufacturer expects to achieve an adjusted EBIT of about €7 billion and free cash flow before customer financing of €4.5 billion for the year. Airbus faced early-year setbacks in its delivery schedule, averaging 45 aircraft per month in the first quarter and 56 in the second, mainly due to delays from engine suppliers. According to Reuters, more than 60 completed Airbus aircraft are waiting for engines from Pratt & Whitney or CFM before delivery. These unfinished planes—often referred to as “gliders”—represent a significant share of the company’s current delivery backlog. Despite ongoing supply chain challenges, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury told CNBC the company remains confident in meeting its 2025 delivery goal. “All our attention will be on engine deliveries from both CFM and Pratt & Whitney, but they’re telling us that they will be able to deliver what we need,” Faury said. “So we remain positive for the back end of the year.” https://mexicobusiness.news/aerospace/news/boeing-trails-airbus-jet-deliveries-hit-493-2025 Is JetBlue Really Buying Spirit Airlines? Spirit Airlines has been in the news a lot over the past few years: two bankruptcy filings, a significant decline in passengers, and a failed merger attempt with fellow discount carrier JetBlue. Now, there are rumblings that JetBlue is planning another attempt at acquiring the floundering airline, but are the rumors true? No — at least, not yet. Spirit did, however, tell investors in October 2025 that it was discussing potential mergers, although it did not name the other parties. To understand the state of affairs at Spirit Airlines, you need to know a bit about the company's history. Launched in the early 1980s as Charter One, the airline began operating under the Spirit name in 1992 and transitioned to an ultra-low-cost-carrier (ULCC) business model in 2005. The ULCC model is based on the idea of providing the lowest fare possible for passengers at the expense of any extras, including baggage and snacks. These types of carriers generate revenue from fees, and passengers expect a no-frills operation with less comfort. Spirit filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2024 following its aborted merger with JetBlue, and exited bankruptcy in early 2025 after a financial restructuring. Its new financial plan failed, however, and the company again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2025. Spirit isn't alone, however — many of its fellow budget airlines are struggling, and Spirit's future is unclear. JetBlue's attempted 2024 acquisition of Spirit didn't just fail; it was blocked by a federal judge after the U.S. Department of Justice sued to stop the deal, citing antitrust laws. In the last year, Spirit has suspended 40 routes, furloughed about a third of its cabin crew staff, and cut 114 planes from its fleet in a bid to reduce costs and stabilize its finances. In late October 2025, flight data from Harry Reid Airport in Nevada indicated a 46% drop in arrivals and departures on Spirit Airlines in the prior month, a decline not mirrored by other airlines. With grocery prices still sky-high and tariffs raising prices on products like cars and electronics, why are low-cost airlines having trouble? A slump in the economy, evolving consumer trends, and policy changes that are removing the few free perks some airlines still provided are part of the problem. The pandemic also hit airlines hard, and supply chain problems and rising costs have contributed to financial woes. In early October 2025, the airline received approval for $475 million in debtor-in-possession financing, a type of loan for companies in bankruptcy. A Newsweek report cited experts' belief that a merger may still be on the horizon as an ideal way forward for the airline, but whether any potential merger will be with JetBlue or another airline remains to be seen. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/jetblue-really-buying-spirit-airlines-231500725.html Why it may take years for air travel to recover from the government shutdown While the government shutdown may soon be in the rearview mirror, it could leave air travel in a chokehold for months, and possibly years, to come. Until a deal is officially inked, airlines must continue to follow the Federal Aviation Administration’s emergency order to incrementally reduce flight capacity at 40 major US airports, up to 10%. Starting Tuesday, 6% of flights will be cut. The order calls for airlines to cancel flights seven days before they are scheduled to fly, and once they are canceled and passengers are informed, they can’t easily be reinstated. “There are significant challenges with these cancellations inside an airline, because it’s not easy to cancel randomly every day on 10% of our schedules and keep preserving those cancelations,” said Eash Sundaram, former chief digital and technology officer of JetBlue Airways. He now is the president of a technology venture fund called Utpata Ventures. “The airlines should be thinking about how hard it’s going to hit them in the next two to three weeks on the cancellations, and then the recovery process happens after that.” If controllers come back to the job, pilot and aviation consultant Kit Darby thinks it might take airlines a “week or two” to snap back. “If we can’t get it done this week (to end the shutdown), we’re starting to get to the point where it won’t be fully recovered by Thanksgiving,” Darby said. “I think if they do it this week, we can be very close to fully recovered by Thanksgiving.” However, passengers’ plans are in the hands of lawmakers to achieve a deal and secure a more reliable travel experience as the winter holidays creep closer. Controllers returning to work, or not Even when the government officially reopens, the number of controllers showing up to work might not immediately bounce back. Essential FAA employees who have worked during the shutdown will not immediately receive back pay, and some may choose not to return to work right away. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said some of their members have taken second jobs and those side hustles may continue until they get their missed paychecks. Nick Daniels, president of the union, said it took two to two and a half months for controllers to get all their back pay after the last shutdown in 2019. President Donald Trump demanded Monday all controllers “get back to work, NOW” on Truth Social, recommending a bonus of $10,000 per controller who didn’t take time off during the shutdown. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later agreed with that sentiment, promising to work with Congress to reward controllers. Darby said in his experience, controllers go “above and beyond.” “They work extra hours, extra days,” Darby said. “Been doing it for a long time, have been poorly treated. But that’s just their nature.” Some controllers will never come back Some air traffic controllers will never return to their jobs and are retiring or quitting to find work where they will not be subject to government shutdowns. Duffy told CNN, prior to the shutdown, only four controllers were retiring per day. Since the shutdown began, that’s changed to 20 to 25 retirees per day. Earlier this year the Department of Transportation offered bonuses to retirement aged controllers to stay on the job longer to help relieve the existing shortage, but the shutdown seems to be working against that effort. “It’s going to be harder for me to come back after the shutdown and have more controllers controlling the airspace,” Duffy told CNN on Sunday. “So, this is going to live on in air travel well beyond the timeframe that this government opens back up.” “We’re going to have to find out how many actually resign, how many retired due to this shutdown, and truly start assessing all the different impacts the shutdown has,” Daniels said. The next generation Going into the shutdown, the nation’s air traffic control system was short by more than 3,000 workers, and a new effort to “supercharge” hiring this year has now been jeopardized by it. In September, before the shutdown, the DOT said it met its hiring goals for the year by recruiting more than 2,000 people. The FAA’s air traffic controller academy in Oklahoma City was the “busiest” it has ever been, an FAA official told CNN in July, with roughly 800 to 1,000 more trainees in the pipeline than a year ago. Classes at the academy have continued during the shutdown but left some students questioning if a job where they could have to go for weeks without pay is something they want to pursue, Duffy said. Some students have dropped out as a result. The funding to pay trainees is also running out, he said last month. Would-be controllers get stipends to make ends meet as they go through schooling. If that stops, it “will be cataclysmic for them,” he said. The shutdown keeps going Perhaps the worst outcome would be if a deal takes a longer to come together or if it falls apart and the shutdown continues on for weeks more. On Sunday, eight Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the federal funding measure in exchange for a future vote on extending enhanced Affordable Care subsidies. The House would also have to return and adopt the deal struck in the Senate before it is sent to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed. The busy Thanksgiving travel period is just weeks away, and without a deal Duffy warned air travel could slow “to a trickle.” “I think we’re going to see air traffic controllers, very few coming to work, which means you’ll have a few flights taking off and landing at different airports across the country,” Duffy said. “But for the thousands of flights that happen every day to move people around the country for the great American holiday, it’s not going to happen.” If the shutdown has not been resolved at the end of this week, there is a big risk Thanksgiving travel could be disrupted, said Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group. If the shutdown is resolved no later than the end of this week or even this coming weekend, then airlines should have enough time to reassemble their schedules and get flights back operating at normal levels by the time it is Thanksgiving, he added. Duffy even hinted Friday at hypothetically cutting capacity up to 20% of air traffic if the shutdown drags on. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/shutdown-ends-air-travel-still-090000202.html Transportation Secretary says air traffic controllers who stopped working before missing pay could face consequences Sean Duffy said his department may punish air traffic controller absences during the shutdown. He was referring specifically to controllers who stopped working before missing pay. Controllers missed their first full paycheck on October 28 due to the shutdown. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Tuesday that air traffic controllers may be punished if they started calling in sick before missing pay during the government shutdown. "My concern is, for those air traffic controllers who, before they missed a paycheck, and were in the shutdown, they decided on a continual basis not to show up for work," Duffy said at a news conference in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. "They don't know how long the shutdown was going to be, they hadn't missed a pay period, and they didn't come to work," he continued. The transportation secretary said his department hasn't yet decided whether to take action against such controllers. He did not specify what consequences may be imposed. The Transportation Department's press team did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider. But Duffy said he was concerned about the "dedication" and "patriotism" of these workers, and that his department would investigate them. "Again, we have to look at the data," he said. "I would just tell you: I'm trying to bring more air traffic controllers in, I'm not trying to take air traffic controllers out." "But if we have controllers who systemically weren't doing their job, we will take action," he added. Air traffic controllers are among the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have missed pay since October 1 while Congress hashes out disagreements on government funding. Controllers received a partial paycheck in mid-October for work completed before the shutdown, but then missed their full paycheck for the month on October 28. Duffy's comments align with President Donald Trump's remarks on Monday that air traffic controllers who called in sick during the shutdown would be "docked." "For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Conversely, the president floated a $10,000 bonus for controllers who continued working during the shutdown period. Some controllers started calling in sick amid the shutdown, creating a staffing shortage that was enough to prompt the Federal Aviation Administration to order that airlines cut 10% of their flights at 40 major US airports. Over 7,000 US flights were canceled between Friday and Monday. Before the shutdown, the US was already facing a shortage of air traffic controllers, who must be between 31 and 56 years old and undergo three years of training before they can perform their duties. With fewer controllers, those still performing their jobs face fatigue from long hours and heightened pressure while coordinating flights. In earlier, separate remarks on Sunday, Duffy said it's likely that air traffic controllers may start finding second jobs or gigs to support themselves until Congress approves a funding bill. "Virtually none of them can miss two paychecks," he said. He further warned that if the shutdown continues, Americans should expect disruptions to their travel plans during the Thanksgiving holiday season. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/transportation-secretary-says-air-traffic-065350613.html GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY REQUEST Dear Fellow Pilot, Researchers at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University are conducting a study to better understand the mental health of professional pilots and the barriers they may face in seeking support. If you are currently a professional pilot, working in any sector and region of the global aviation industry, you are invited to participate in this anonymous, voluntary survey. The survey includes questions on anxiety, depression, self-stigma, and attitudes toward disclosing mental health concerns to civil aviation regulatory bodies (e.g., FAA, EASA, CAA, ANAC, etc.). It takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. No identifying information or IP addresses will be collected, and all responses will remain completely confidential. Your participation will help identify key challenges and support the development of resources and industry practices that prioritize pilot well-being and safety. Thank you for your time and contribution to this important research. Link to the Survey Questionnaire https://forms.gle/AnJuk3TZ2u96SpFq9 Thank you very much for your time and consideration. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss this further. Best Regards, Bill Deng Pan Ph.D. in Aviation Student CALENDAR OF EVENTS . 29th annual Bombardier Safety Standdown, November 11-13, 2025; Wichita, Kansas · CHC Safety & Quality Summit, 11th – 13th November 2025, Vancouver, BC Canada . 2026 ACSF Safety Symposium; April 7-9, 2026; ERAU Daytona Beach, FL . 2026 NBAA Maintenance Conference; May 5-7, 2026; New Orleans, LA . BASS 2026 - 71st Business Aviation Safety Summit - May 5-6, 2026 | Provo, Utah . The African Aviation Safety & Operations Summit - May 19-20 | Johannesburg, South Africa . Safeskies Australia - Australia’s renowned Aviation Safety Conference - Canberra Australia 20 and 21 May 2026 . 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) Oct. 20-22, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV Curt Lewis