KaNeesha's Blog

 Minot, ND USA is one of the coldest places in the continental united states. Cold and aviation do not always mix. It snows sideways and rains basically ice and this has a huge impact on the airport in town. The weather in Minot, currently is -2 with a real feel of -14 after the windchill. The grounds are painted white with snow and ice and that's including the taxiways and runway of the airport. " Minot International Airport (MOT) boasts the largest commercial terminal in the state of North Dakota, with air service provided by Delta, United, and Allegiant." (Fun Facts)  When it comes to the snow and ice in Minot, there is usually both present nine out of the twelve months out of the year. Even in these conditions the airport does not slow down. If anything traffic picks up becuase of people trying to visit warmer places.  This takes a toll on the airport because the workers still have to work outside and have to de-ice planes while ice is practically falling down. Even t...

 The legislation that I decided to right about this week is the Clean Air Act of 1970. " Clean Air Act (CAA), U.S. federal law, passed in 1970 and later amended, to prevent air pollution and thereby protect the ozone layer and promote public health." (Holst) The Clean Air Act (CAA) helped to shape the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and give them the power needed to fight environmental pollution. The CAA later authorized the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). These standards address some of the major pollutants in our atmosphere that threaten public health:  sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, and lead. Green House Gases (GHG) are also another pollutant that is controlled by the EPA under authorization of the CAA. When it comes to the CAA, EPA and aviation, GHG come into play. The EPA, through the CAA, created The Control of Air Pollution from Airplanes and Airplane Engines: GHG Emission Standards and ...

 For this post I decided to use the threat of smuggling drugs from foreign countries. TSA is the first line of defense for drug because of the second and seventh layer of security. The second layer is customs and boarder protection. The CBP is a layer of protecting in the Aviation world that stops drugs from being flown into the county from other places. The CBP uses animals, detection kits and other methods to uncover drugs. They also pay attention to body language and nervousness when talking to passengers.  The next layer, layer seven, is Canine. Canine is self explanatory. it is where canines are trained to be able to smell different types of narcotics that aren't allowed into the United States. Canines are taught to detect concealed humans and the odors of controlled substances, which include: Marijuana, Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, Hashish, Ecstasy. When deployed, these dog can smell most contraband that is being smuggled into the states and this is a huge factor th...

 Human factors, in the aviation world, is defined as a “multidisciplinary effort to generate and compile information about human capabilities and limitations and apply that information to equipment, systems, facilities, procedures, jobs, environments, training, staffing, and personnel management for safe, comfortable, and effective human performance” (FAA Order 9550.8A). When it comes to working in aviation, especially as a team, human factor ahs to come into play. A single person in a team could cause an entire operation to go south if they decided to get lazy, or cut corners, or skips steps all together. The point of taking human factor into play is to help alleviate the damage that can be caused by humans being human. Humans naturally take short cuts and skip steps, especially once comfortable with what they are doing.  The team based activity I am writing about is the preflight inspections that crew chiefs do before every flight. That preflight inspection involves two crew...

Discussion 3.2 The failure I decided to use for this post is brake failure. " Aircraft brakes stop a moving aircraft by converting its kinetic energy to heat energy by means of friction between rotating and stationary discs located in brake assemblies in the wheels. " (Olson 2019) There are so many different ways the brake system can fail and cause minor and major problems for the aircraft and the aircrew. When it comes to the entire brake system, there are many different components. There are stators, rotors, brake disc/pads, brake fluid, etc.  The stators and rotors basically work against each other to help the tires slow to a stop. The stators stay mounted to the axel assembly, while the rotors stay fixed to the rotating tire. As the tires speed up, the rotors pick up speed. When the brakes are applied the stators push their discs into the rotors disc, creating friction, causing the tire to slow.  If any of the many components involved in the brake system go bad, it can ca...

Hi Guys, I believe that one of the most significant environmental factors in the aviation world is water. More specifically, frozen water. Water can exist in its liquid state while being in below freezing temperatures. While at these extreme temperatures, as long as the water is not messed with it will stay in liquid form. As soon as this water is manipulated in any way, it freezes. When planes fly through super convective clouds, they are flying through below freezing temperatures. Inside those clouds are super-cooled water droplets. Once these water droplets come in contact with the fuselage of the plane, they freeze on impact, creating a layer of ice on the plane.  "Airframe icing, if not overcome by anti-icing systems, can lead to loss of lift and increase in weight, with an associated deterioration in aircraft performance." (IATA.org 2016) Losing lift capabilities while simultaneously adding weight can cause a plethora of negative reactions. While there is liquid water i...

  Ethics When I hear the word ethics, the first thing that pops into my mind is right and wrong. Would I do the exact same thing, in the exact same way if no one was watching? "Ethic is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation"(Merriam-Webster). Ethics plays an important role in every aspect of aviation. From the pilot to the marshaller, even to the load crew for commercial flights, regardless of your role, ethics is important. Ethics can be the difference between someone going home or not, especially in the aviation world. To me, ethics is what you do when no one is watching. That preflight inspection that is done over and over, every single day, is it still going to be done right while working alone? Does that extra gallon of fuel really matter? Could the weight of that last suitcase not placed correctly really effect the entire weight of the plane? All of these questions are things that people in the aviation industry have to answ...