30 OCT 2007 _______________________________________ *Bombardier called to 'crisis meeting' on air safety *A look at recent incidents involving Bombardier Q400 aircraft *Airplane Slides off Keflavík Runway *Airplane Wheel Catches Fire At John Wayne Airport *Alenia Suspends 787 Fuselage Shipments *Would Releasing Airline Statistics Needlessly Worry Passengers? *Personal jets, dubbed 'SUVs of the sky,' spreading their wings *Heathrow voted world's least favourite airport *N.Y. airport to get rid of cats despite outcry *China Conducts First ADS-B Commercial Aviation Trial with Sensis ADS-B *************************************** Bombardier called to 'crisis meeting' on air safety The European Aviation Safety Agency has summoned Bombardier Inc. to what it's calling a "crisis meeting" next week after a Scandinavian airline grounded its entire fleet of Q400 turboprops. Scandinavian Airlines System officials said they no longer have confidence in the aircraft after a plane crash-landed in Copenhagen on Saturday because of a landing gear malfunction. In a statement, the European agency promised to "take all measures to ensure the safety of European passengers and citizens." The agency is also talking with Transport Canada officials to assess the possibility of a link between the Saturday incident and two other instances of landing gear failure at the airline. The agency said it "is very concerned" about "the possible relation with other recent Dash 8 Q400 accidents." "In the light of our analysis, we will decide whether to issue a further emergency airworthiness directive or any other appropriate measures for the Dash 8 Q400 aircraft." But a Bombardier spokesperson challenged the use of the term "crisis meeting." "If we're meeting next week, then it doesn't look like much of an emergency," spokesperson Marc Duchesne said. Bombardier was disappointed with the Scandinavian airline's dramatic decision to ground the fleet before a Danish investigation of the two earlier incidents is completed, Duchesne said. Other carriers are already interested in taking over the 27 aircraft, most of which are leased to the airline, the Bombardier spokesperson said. Benoit Poirier, an analyst with Desjardins Securities, said: "We find it noteworthy that the problem has only occurred with SAS, and believe it could be due in part to the fact that SAS was the launch customer for the Q400" in 2000, Poirier said. "In fact, SAS's spokesperson acknowledged that it has had issues since receiving its launch order, but that the newer generations of Q400s seem to be more reliable." When it was launched in February 2000, the Q400 series was plagued with "unpleasant teething problems," including weak support to customers like SAS, Richard Aboulafia, an industry analyst, wrote in a July report. Problems with the Q400 are increasingly of concern, including two crash landings this spring in Japan when the front landing gear failed to drop, Aboulafia said. Although Bombardier's aftermarket support improved, there could still be bad blood between it and SAS, he said yesterday. "They've had issues before with customer support and with annoying customers," said Aboulafia, vice-president of analysis at the Teal Group. "And you rarely hear about deeply annoyed customers in this business." Uncertainty stemming from SAS's decision cost Bombardier stock. The company's stock initially dropped almost nine per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange but rallied to close at $5.34 per share - down 19 cents, or 3.4 per cent, for the day. While some observers predicted the incidents would hurt future Q400 orders, other analysts said the Toronto-assembled aircraft is considered reliable. At a time when the price of oil is hitting more than $93 a barrel, Bombardier has more than 110 orders for the fuel-efficient, 70-seater Q400, which is being used for regional flights. Last week, Bombardier received a $357 million order for 12 Q400s from Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=fa155798-76f2-43e3-adb3- edff0a03d7bf&k=49035 *************** A look at recent incidents involving Bombardier Q400 aircraft STOCKHOLM, Sweden: (AP) Scandinavian airline SAS dropped 27 Bombardier Q400 turboprops from its fleet after three accidents involving landing gear problems. Here is a look at recent incidents involving the aircraft, also known as Dash 8 or DHC-8: _Feb. 9, 2006: The pilot of an All Nippon Airways turboprop aborts a landing attempt at Matsuyama Airport in Japan after having trouble deploying the landing gear. The plane lands safely after the landing gear is deployed manually. _March 13, 2007: An All Nippon Airways turboprop makes an emergency landing at Kochi airport in western Japan after the front landing gear fails to extend. No one is injured. The airline temporarily grounds its fleet of Bombardier planes for inspections. _Aug. 12, 2007: A Jeju Air turboprop skids off the runway in Busan, South Korea, injuring six people. The cause of the accident is unclear. _Sept. 9, 2007: An SAS turboprop with 73 people on board makes a crash-landing in Aalborg, Denmark. The right landing gear collapses after touchdown. Five passengers receive minor injuries during the evacuation. Today in Business EU steel makers seek tariffs on China imports UBS reports first quarterly loss in nearly 5 years 774 arrests in China over safety _Sept. 12, 2007: An SAS turboprop carrying 52 people skids off the runway because of a landing gear malfunction during an emergency landing in Vilnius, Lithuania. No one is injured. SAS temporarily grounds its turboprops for inspections. _Sept. 22, 2007: An Augsburg Airways turboprop with 64 passengers and four crew makes an emergency landing in Munich, Germany, after its nose landing gear fails to extend. No injuries are reported. _Oct. 27, 2007: An SAS turboprop slides down the runway on its belly at Copenhagen's airport after the right landing gear malfunctions. All 44 people on board are evacuated without injuries. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/29/business/EU-FIN-Turboprop-Accident s-Glance.php **************** Airplane Slides off Keflavík Runway The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) is investigating an accident which occurred Saturday night at Keflavík International Airport when the airplane TF-JXF slid off runway N-4 while landing. All 188 passengers were unharmed. The airplane belongs to the airline JETX and was transporting Icelandic passengers back from Turkey. According to information received by AAIB, the crew was told by the approach control that the braking conditions were good though some parts of the runway were icy, Morgunbladid reports. While landing the crew realized that the breaking conditions were not as good as they had expected and tried to slow the airplane down, but didn’t manage to stop the airplane until it reached the end of the runway. The pilot therefore tried to make a 90° turn into runway N-4, but the airplane slid on ice causing both the nose wheel and one of the main wheels to run outside the airstrip. According to Bragi Baldursson, who is responsible for the AAIB investigation, black ice can be created very quickly under certain weather conditions, when the temperature is around freezing point, which was the case when the accident occurred. Fridthór Eydal, a representative of the Keflavík Airport Civil Aviation Administration, said he would not comment on the accident until the AAIB has reached a conclusion other than saying that Keflavík’s airstrips are being cleared as efficiently as when the US military was in charge of doing so. http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_a_i d=293011 **************** Airplane Wheel Catches Fire At John Wayne Airport (CBS) SANTA ANA, Calif. A tire on a business jet caught fire, closing the main runway at John Wayne Airport for nearly 90 minutes and leading to the diversion of 10 aircrafts on Monday, officials said. The Hawker 800 XP was preparing for takeoff around 2 p.m., with six passengers and two crew members aboard, when the tire under the left wing caught fire, sending flames and smoke into the air, said Courtney Wiercioch of the John Wayne Airport Airport firefighters doused the flames and moved the plane, but the primary runway was shut down until 3:23 p.m., Wiercioch said. Ten aircrafts were diverted to other airports, said Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration. Officials are not sure how many planes were delayed at take-off, but "it's not the busiest time of the day for us," Wiercioch said. Gregor said the FAA will investigate the reason for the fire. http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_302205441.html ***************** Alenia Suspends 787 Fuselage Shipments Says It's Awaiting Revised Plan From Boeing Finmeccanica SpA subsidiary Alenia Aeronautica announced Monday it has suspended further shipments of Boeing 787 fuselage segments until the American planemaker sets a new schedule for production of the upcoming composite-bodied airliner. Alenia contributes 14 percent of the 787's structure, including two fuselage segments and the horizontal stabilizer assembly. The company sent six shipments to the US before Boeing announced a six-month delay to the Dreamliner program earlier this month, and is almost done with components for the seventh and eighth aircraft. Boeing admitted October 24 it's still having problems assembling fuselage segments on the 787, due primarily to a shortage of the specialized fasteners needed to join the composite barrel sections together... meaning the planemaker has little need for more parts than it can assemble. "Boeing is finalizing the program but the problem is that we don't have a date at the moment," Alenia Composites CEO Maurizio Rosini told Bloomberg. He added the company has enough room at its plants in Grottaglie and Foggia to store finished sections until Boeing is ready for them. In a separate interview, Finmeccanica COO Giorgio Zappa said Alenia contracted with Boeing to offer as many as seven shipments a month... with that rate increasing to 10 a month by the second half of 2008, as ANN reported. "It's clear if they increase production, we could reach maybe 120 a year," Zappa said, while adding Boeing hasn't fixed such an optimistic schedule. Despite the fact each shipment represents anywhere from $6 million to $8 million for Alenia, the company asserts the halt in deliveries will have "no financial impact." FMI: www.boeing.com, www.alenia-aeronautica.it/ aero-news.net ************** Would Releasing Airline Statistics Needlessly Worry Passengers? NYT Makes Case For NASA's Withholding Of Safety Survey Last year, passengers flew 760 million times on airline flights in the United States, with just one death -- a mechanic who fell while trying to close the door of a parked Boeing 737. Flying is safer than passengers think, according to FAA statistics... which is likely why the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is reluctant to release a safety survey noting more incidents of near-misses and bird strikes, The New York Times postulates. As ANN reported, NASA refused to release the results of a survey of 8,000 commercial pilots that sought to track safety problems and determine if they were worsening. The reason being, the agency didn't want to scare anyone. The Associated Press sought the same data under the Freedom of Information Act. In refusing to turn it over, NASA told the AP releasing the data "could materially affect the public confidence in, and the commercial welfare of, the air carriers and general aviation companies whose pilots participated in the survey." NASA’s response is nothing new for the federal government... which has traditionally said as little as possible about the safety of individual airports or airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration was originally founded in part to promote aviation -- though in 1996, Congress removed that mission because it conflicted with the agency’s role as a regulator. But there still is tension that remains in cases where data might raise public apprehension about air travel. Some economists have been able to quantify that fear. After Pan Am 103 was bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, trans-Atlantic passenger traffic fell by 20 percent in the next year. The FAA published that figure in a risk/benefit analysis in July 2001 to justify the rule. The FAA justifies the benefit of keeping bombs off planes so travelers won’t be frightened into staying at home; they call it "the known reaction of Americans to any aircraft operator disaster." The Times reports the FAA plans to change the way it compiles statistics on aviation-related deaths. Only passengers and members of the crew will be counted. Mechanics have been eliminated from the tabulation... which, the agency believes, should paint a safer picture of the industry. FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.faa.gov aero-news.net *************** Personal jets, dubbed 'SUVs of the sky,' spreading their wings HARTFORD, Conn. - A growing number of pilots, day trippers and business travellers with some extra dollars are finding a new way to join the jet set. Small private planes known as "very light jets," or VLJs, are starting to show up in the sky and on the tarmacs of small local airports. Several companies plan to amass fleets of the new VLJs and offer air-taxi and on-demand charter flight services once they get federal approval. Displays of the aircraft, called the "SUVs of the sky," drew scores of curious aviation buffs at a recent trade show in Hartford for private pilots and aircraft owners. But while several of those attending already own small propeller-driven planes, they said their bank balances fell far short of the $1.6 million to $3 million needed to buy one of the little jets. "If I had an extra million and a half on hand, sure, I'd buy one. I'd have to win the lottery first," said Lars Margolies of Gardiner, N.Y., eyeing one of the jets at Hartford's Brainard Airport with New York City resident Rob Boettcher. Boettcher, who owns a four-seat Piper Archer, said very light jets are getting a lot of buzz in aviation circles because they're attractive to people who want to upgrade, and because of the potential cottage industries that new air-taxi services could spawn. Among those services: Linear Air of Concord, Mass., already has one of the mini-jets and four more are expected to arrive in the next several months. The company plans to expand its fleet to 15 sometime in 2008. Linear Air already offers charter flights on eight-seat Cessna Caravan turboprops, but company president and CEO William Herp said the new jets - which will carry two pilots and three passengers - are lighter and faster. It will start using its new jet as soon as the Federal Aviation Administration gives the go-ahead, he said, adding he hopes that will be sometime this fall. "We have customers chomping at the bit to try them. I literally get e-mails and phone calls every day from people with questions about it," Herp said. Another company, a Chicopee, Mass.-based startup called Pogo Jets, plans an initial public offering of stock to raise money to order more than two dozen of the jets, with an eye toward launching service in 2009. Pratt & Whitney Canada, a division of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp., manufactures the PW600-series engines used by many mini-jet makers. The engines, small enough to fit in the trunk of a midsized car, can be built in eight hours each, and can power a little jet for more than 1,600 kilometres on a single tank of fuel depending on weather conditions. In fact, the mini-jet market has helped Pratt & Whitney's Canada operation become its fastest-growing segment, Pratt spokeswoman Jennifer Whitlow said. It expects to deliver more than 3,000 of the engines to customers this year, she said. "Pratt took a big and ambitious dive into the market, and going with them was one of the best decisions we've made," said Andrew Broom, a spokesman for Albuquerque-based Eclipse Aviation, which is using Pratt engines on its new Eclipse 500 VLJ. That craft, which starts at $1.5 million, was certified by the FAA in 2006. Those are the jets that Linear Air already has on order, and which Pogo Jets hopes to acquire. Eclipse has more than 2,600 orders for its new jet, which can be equipped with leather seats, an entertainment system with satellite radio and other perks. More than 50 of the planes already have been delivered to buyers. The slightly larger Citation Mustang personal jet, produced by Wichita-based Cessna Aircraft Co., also received the FAA's approval in 2006. Cessna has been building Citation planes since 1973, and its Mustang VLJ started drawing interest from potential buyers almost immediately after it was announced in 2002. While some air-taxi services have favoured the smaller Eclipse jets, many well-heeled industry leaders, companies and individual plane owners and pilots have gravitated to the Cessna Mustang. And as with Eclipse, demand for the Cessna has been so robust that it's outpaced supply. A Citation Mustang ordered today, costing between $2.5 million and $3 million, will be on the owner's tarmac in fall 2010. http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iyOlKZh62OHA2yhYMHm68hfSjvHg **************** Heathrow voted world's least favourite airport Heathrow's reputation took a further knock yesterday when it was voted the world's least favourite airport. It came joint top with Chicago in a survey of 2,500 travellers by the travel organisation TripAdvisor. Heathrow shared the title of world's least favourite airport with Chicago The poll asked respondents to rate 36 airports in terms of how easy they were to navigate, cleanliness of their lavatories and the quality of their parking facilities The survey also showed that 90 per cent of British respondents opposed plans which would allow passengers to use mobile phones during flights – a move also fiercely opposed by a Daily Telegraph campaign. TripAdvisor's findings echoed the criticisms of Heathrow voiced by political and business leaders over the past year, who said the airport shamed London. News of the airport's poor placing emerged as American Airlines started a New York service from Stansted while British Airways continued its search for continental slots for transatlantic flights. Passengers have frequently faced delays of up to an hour to negotiate security and check-in queues before reaching their planes. Getting into the country has often been just as bad with new scanning equipment doubling the time needed to process passports. Slots at Heathrow remain in demand and other airlines, such as Continental, plan on using the airport for transatlantic flights. However, at the same time, the open skies agreement between the European Union and the US will make it possible for airlines to operate from airports outside their home base. British Airways has earmarked a number of continental airports for potential transatlantic flights, including Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid. A spokesman for BA said the move was not a vote of no confidence in Heathrow, but a desire to take advantage of the business opportunities offered by open skies, which comes into force next March. Over the past 12 months, there has been a dramatic growth in the number of transatlantic flights operating away from Heathrow. Stansted has been the main beneficiary with two niche business-class carriers, Eos and MaxJet, running services from London's "third" airport. American Airlines' arrival is an indication that some mainstream carriers are looking to cash in on Heathrow's unpopularity by offering alternative services. Next April, American will double its frequency with two daily flights from Stansted to JFK. The 20 worst performers London, Heathrow Airport / Chicago, O'Hare International New York, JFK Atlanta, Hartsfield Int Los Angeles Int Miami Int New York, La Guardia Paris, Charles de Gaulle Dallas Fort Worth Neward Liberty Int London Gatwick Cancun Int Toronto Pearson Int Las Vegas, McCarran Frankfurt Int London Stansted Orlando Int Denver San Franscisco Int Amsterdam Schipol http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2007/10/30/et-airpo rt-130.xml **************** N.Y. airport to get rid of cats despite outcry NEW YORK (Reuters) - Authorities at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport began rounding up wild cats and kittens on Monday as part of a plan to get rid of them, despite an outcry by animal rights groups. Professional animal handlers started to trap cats living near the airport's cargo area, said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport. The cats will then be handed over Animal Care & Control, a city agency that put to sleep nearly 12,000 unwanted cats in the past year. An estimated 75 cats live at the airport, feeding mainly on rats and scraps of food provided by airport workers. The food in turn attracts a variety of animals including birds, which especially create a hazard for jet engines, the Port Authority says. "An airport with 50 million passengers and countless takeoffs and landings per day is not the place for a large wild cat community," said Pasquale DiFulco, a Port Authority spokesman. "They are a safety hazard and a health hazard." Animal rights advocates called the safety hazard claims exaggerated and said the captured cats most likely would be euthanized. Several animal rights groups protested near Port Authority's headquarters in New York on Monday. "Adult wild cats hardly ever adapt as pets and we know what happens to animals lingering on unadopted in shelters," said Nancy Peterson, director of the feral cat program at the Humane Society of the United States. A cheaper and more humane alternative, she said, would be to neuter the cats and return them to the airport. "If these animal rights groups accept to adopt the cats, we would agree to pay for their neutering," DiFulco said. "But their return to the airport is out of the question." **************** China Conducts First ADS-B Commercial Aviation Trial with Sensis ADS-B Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast will Provide Improved Situational Awareness and Airspace Capacity EAST SYRACUSE, N.Y., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Sensis Corporation has been selected by the Air Traffic Management Bureau of the Civil Aviation Administration of China to deploy Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport, both located in central China. This is the country's first formal trial of 1090 ADS-B for use by commercial aircraft in preparation for future nationwide ADS-B deployment. ADS-B will allow aircraft in this region to broadcast real-time reports indicating identification and position to both air traffic controllers and other aircraft, improving situational awareness. Sensis has partnered with Aviation Data Communication Corporation (ADCC) to trial this next generation surveillance technology and to develop the implementation path for a future nationwide rollout. At 11,311 feet, Jiuzhai Airport is one of the highest tableland airports in the world and is surrounded by mountains that can limit pilots' ability to see and avoid other aircraft. At Jiuzhai, ADS-B will provide an improved view of air traffic as well as important flight parameters to enhance conflict avoidance capability. Chengdu Airport is an important aviation hub and distribution center of passengers and cargo for the southwest region. At Chengdu, ADS-B will assist with the high volume of air traffic by enabling aircraft to transmit their location and identification data to other aircraft and air traffic controllers, allowing for enhanced capacity, safety and efficiency. "Sensis has pioneered the development of 'mixed mode' surveillance using multilateration and ADS-B technology," said Tony Lo Brutto, Vice President and General Manager of Sensis Air Traffic Systems. "With this trial, China takes a leadership position in aviation modernization by laying the groundwork for nationwide deployment of next generation technology." ABOUT SENSIS CORPORATION Sensis Corporation provides sensors, information technology, and simulation and modeling to the world's air navigation service providers, civil aviation authorities, airports, airlines and militaries. Sensis Corporation solutions are deployed around the world. For more information regarding Sensis Corporation, visit www.sensis.com. ABOUT AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT BUREAU - CIVIL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION OF CHINA Air Traffic Management Bureau (ATMB) is a Subordinate functional organization of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), providing nationwide air traffic service, civil aviation aeronautical communication, navigation, surveillance, aeronautical meteorological and aeronautical information. The current management system is composed of three levels: CAAC/ATMB, regional ATMB and air traffic control centers. Area control, approach control and aerodrome control have basically formed the air traffic service operation system, with staff of over 12,000 currently. Website: http://www.sensis.com// http://sev.prnewswire.com/aerospace-defense/20071029/NYM01129102007-1.html ******************* Curt Lewis, PE, CSP WEB: www.fsinfo.org