27 NOV 2007 _______________________________________ *Southwest jet engine damage *Sydney Airport runway to shut for a year *Report: Passengers Finding Younger Pilots In Regional Jet Cockpits *Airbus A340-642X Ground Accident (France) *TSB issues final report on A310 loss of rudder incident *Airbus, China reach accord on massive aircraft order, A350 cooperation *EU Resumes Safety Inspections in Bulgaria's Aviation *CFM56-Equipped A318s Approved For Steep Approach Landings *Boy, 13, arrested for pointing laser at helicopter *John Swift - Passes *************************************** Southwest jet engine damage Southwest flight 438 left Love Field for Little Rock at 2:30 in the afternoon on November 17th but encountered a serious problem just a half hour later at 25,000 feet. Brandy King, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines says "our pilot did notice a vibration in right engine. He followed procedures and shut down that engine and land the aircraft back at Dallas Love Field" Pictures taken after the 737 landed back in Dallas show the extent of the damage, a huge hole in the panel around the right engine. Brandy King says "we don't know the cause at this time. We are investigating that along with the NTSB. All we do know is that there was damage to the exterior fan blades and there was a puncture in the acoustic panel that helps reduce the noise of the engine." In a letter sent three days later to the 133 passengers on board, Southwest explains, "The fan blades on the front of the engine were damaged, and rattled around the engines intake area", puncturing the acoustical cover. Brandy King says, "Our engine did not catch fire to my knowledge. There was not a loss of pressurization. The atmosphere on the aircraft was calm. The crew members were continuously updating the passengers with what was happening so they were very well communicated with." Federal investigators now have parts of the engine and the flight recorder trying to figure out what happened. They don't believe a bird strike is to blame for the damage on the flight. http://www.wcbd.com/midatlantic/cbd/news.apx.-content-articles-CBD-2007-11-27-0013.html **************** Sydney Airport runway to shut for a year One of Sydney Aiport's runways could be shut for a year so its safety area can be extended. And the $65 million project means Sydneysiders will have to endure increased aircraft noise and the possibility of flights being diverted to other airports. The east-west runway safety area at Sydney Airport will be extended to 90 metres. The extension, which is a mandatory safety requirement set by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in case a plane overshoots or lands short of the runway, will mean the runway will have limited access, or be fully closed, for more than a year from April 2008. The closure will force take-offs and landings to occur only on the two north-south runways aand result in between one and three extra flight movements per hour on existing flight paths for the two runways, Sydney Airport estimated. This could vary on a day-to-day basis and change as a result of weather conditions, it said. During periods of strong cross-winds, flights to and from the airport may have to be delayed or even diverted to other airports while the east-west runway remains off limits. Only areas that already lie beneath the flight paths will be affected by the increased noise. "Sydney Airport apologises to the people who will be affected by this vital runway safety enhancement project, but it is necessary to comply with Australia's air safety regulations and provide a larger runway safety area," Sydney Airport CEO, Russell Balding, said. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/11/27/1196036870809.html ***************** Report: Passengers Finding Younger Pilots In Regional Jet Cockpits Fewer Applicants Trigger Signing Bonuses Pilots on regional airlines like American Eagle or Atlantic Southeast Airlines are younger than in the past. This is in part due to a retiring pilot pool, and fewer applicants causing the airlines to change their standards. Regional carriers, operating for major airlines like American, Delta and United, have lowered their minimum hiring requirements recently to meet the challenge of a pilot shortage. Some carriers have reduced required flight hours for new pilots by as much as two-thirds, and in some cases have hired applicants with the minimum experience required by the Federal Aviation Administration for a pilot's license, according to the For Worth Star Telegram. Company’s say recruiting pilots with less experience is due to a shrinking pool of pilots as the demand grows. Many carriers have increased training, and assigned new pilots to fly right-seat with high time veteran Captains. Pilot unions argue this trend could make flying less safe. "The rush to push pilots through training and into the cockpits raises obvious safety concerns," said John Prater, a veteran Continental Airlines pilot and president of the Air Line Pilots Association. Prater spoke of the issue recently at a forum on aviation safety and security. "New pilots today are going straight into the [co-pilot's] seat, and moving into the [captain's] seat in a hurry," he said. "And they're doing it in airplanes that are great machines but can be unforgiving." Airline officials don’t think that safety is an issue, and say that have implemented better training for new hires, and increased their time under the wing of a veteran pilot. "Anyone who raises safety as an issue has some other agenda," said Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association. "The airlines are spending a boatload of money on training and recruiting." American Eagle officials assert the airline's new hires are competent and talented pilots. "We have the best pilots out there," said airline spokeswoman Andrea Huguely. "You can't just walk in from the street and say you want to be a pilot." Regional carriers account for an increasing portion of the country's airline traffic. Half the flights nationwide are operated by regional airlines, Cohen said. The major use of regional airlines is in part because their flight crews are paid less, a savings passed along to the mainline carrier. Pilots used to build their time at smaller air taxi operations, or by working for a flight school instructing, until they had enough hours to meet regional carriers' minimum hour requirements. Regional carriers usually required 1,500 total flight hours before a commercial pilot could apply for a carrier job. A portion of those hours -- usually about 500 -- had to be flown in a multiengine airplane; the rest could be in a single-engine aircraft. Competition by the regionals with fast-growing corporate aviation firms, discount airlines, cargo shippers and foreign airlines for talented young pilots have raided the pool of pilots. These rivals often have better pay and benefits, and more stable work schedules. Military pilot applicants have also slowed, said Paul Rice, a captain for United Airlines who is first vice president for the Air Line Pilots Association. Bankruptcy and pension issues have "taken a lot of the glamour out of being an airline pilot," Cohen said. "There are just fewer young people who want to make a career out of this." Wages are another issue. A starting pilot at Trans States, a regional airline that flies for American under the name American Connection, earns $22 a flight hour, with 74 hours guaranteed a month, according to AirlinePilotCentral.com, which tracks pilot salaries. This equates to an annual starting salary of $19,500. A pilot flying 1,000 hours a year -- the most allowed under federal rules -- would earn about $22,000, according to the Star Telegram. A void of pilots has led airlines to lower hour requirements in order to maintain flight schedules. In 2007 alone, 14 of the 21 regional and commuter airlines tracked by the consulting firm Air Inc. have reduced type hours. Trans States briefly lowered its requirement to 250 total hours last summer before re-raising it to 500, said Kit Darby, the firm's president. American Eagle has slashed its flight hours to 500. "If you have just a few hundred hours and don't have any jet experience, you're looking at quite a learning hurdle," Rice said. Airlines often visit college campuses to recruit, and part of the deal is a bonus for signing, and completing company training. "We have to offer them a career path, with pay and work rules, that is going to be attractive," Magee said. Despite hiring efforts a lack of pilots has forced Eagle to cut flights from its winter schedule because pilots aren't available to fly them. "It's one of several reasons, but that does play into it," Eagle's Huguely said. "The pilots are crucial, and without them, the planes don't fly." FMI: www.alpa.org, www.jetjobs.com aero-news.net *************** Airbus A340-642X Ground Accident (France) Status: Preliminary Date: 15 NOV 2007 Time: ca 17:00 Type: Airbus A340-642X Operator: Airbus Industrie Registration: F-WWCJ C/n / msn: 856 First flight: 2007-09-21 00:00:00 Engines: 4 Rolls Royce 556-61 Trent Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 9 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (TLS) (France) Phase: Standing Nature: - Departure airport: - Destination airport: - Narrative: An Airbus A340-600 due to be delivered to Etihad Airways as A6-EHG jumped its chocks during an engine test at Toulouse. The nose went up and through a blast fence. Five persons were injured. (aviation-safety.net) **************** TSB issues final report on A310 loss of rudder incident The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its final report into the Air Transat loss of rudder incident that occurred on 06 March 2005. The TSB investigation found that the A310 aircraft took off from Varadero, Cuba, most probably with pre-existing damage to the rudder. The separation of the rudder from the aircraft together with the findings of the investigation determined that inspection programs for this model of composite rudder are not adequate for the timely detection of defects. The consequences of a rudder separation include reduced directional control and possible separation of the vertical tail plane. (TSB) TSB Report Number A05F0047: http://www.tsb.gc.ca/en/reports/air/2005/a05f0047/a05f0047.asp **************** Airbus, China reach accord on massive aircraft order, A350 cooperation China's government reached agreement with Airbus yesterday on firm orders for 110 A320 family aircraft and 40 A330s valued at approximately $15 billion and also signed an MOU with the manufacturer stipulating that Chinese industry will take a 5% stake in A350 XWB production. China Southern Airlines signed a separate contract for 10 A330-200s. The announcements of the large aircraft order and industrial cooperation on the A350 coincided with high-profile meetings taking place this week in Beijing between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chinese President Hu Jintao, both of whom were present for the signing of the MOU by Airbus COO Fabrice Bregier and National Development and Reform Commission Vice Minister Chen Deming. According to Airbus, the MOU states that Airbus and NDRC will "carry out high-level industrial cooperation on A350XWB development and manufacturing work in order to enhance a closer strategic cooperation relationship between Airbus and the Chinese aviation industry. Airbus confirms its intent to manufacture 5% of the airframe of the A350 XWB aircraft in China." It added that a joint venture manufacturing plant will be established in Harbin in 2009 with AVIC II subsidiary Harfei Aviation Industry Co. "to produce [A350 WXB] composite material parts and components." Airbus noted that six Chinese manufacturers "are already involved in manufacturing parts, such as wing components, emergency-exit doors and maintenance tools for Airbus aircraft." The plane maker also holds a 51% stake in a JV A320 Final Assembly Line in Tianjin, with first delivery from the FAL expected in the second half of 2009 (ATWOnline, June 29). The 160 aircraft ordered yesterday raise the possibility that Airbus will top rival Boeing in 2007 orders, which was not anticipated earlier this year even by Airbus executives with the company in the midst of launching its Power8 restructuring program (see story below). Aside from the 10 A330-200s going to China Southern, distribution of the other 150 aircraft to Chinese airlines was not revealed, nor is it clear how many of the A320s will come from the Tianjin FAL. http://atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=10935 ***************** EU Resumes Safety Inspections in Bulgaria's Aviation The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) launches Tuesday new inspections of Bulgaria's civil aviation. The experts will check the capacity of aviation authorities and inspect the way certificates are issued to local airlines. After the last checks carried out in May, EASA argued that there are substantial lapses in the area of aviation safety. Bulgaria then declared its firm engagement in improving safety standards in accordance to the rules of the European Union and in the wake of the review authorities stripped of licence four local cargo airlines. Air Sofia, Bright Aviation Services, Skorpion Air and Vega Airlines, which lost rights to service flights, were already blacklisted for flying in EU airspace in February as a precautionary measure over "grave deficiencies" in safety procedures. The safeguard clause excluded Bulgarian air carriers from the benefit of being considered a "Community carrier". As a EU member state Bulgaria is a subject to regular checks of the EASA, which provides certificates to companies for operation in the bloc's air space and is responsible for introducing common safety and environmental standards at European level. The EU's air space includes also Switzerland, Iceland and Norway, regardless they are not part of the bloc. http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=87932 ***************** CFM56-Equipped A318s Approved For Steep Approach Landings Engines Now Quieter For Urban Use The Airbus A318 and A318 Elite business jet, equipped with CFM56 turbofans, were recently approved for Steep Approach landing capability by the European Aviation Safety Agency. The A318 approval by EASA on November 19 for the CFM engines was preceded in June 2007, when a similar approval was granted by the agency for the A318 powered by Pratt and Whitney PW6000 engines, according to Airbus. The certification opens up the steep approach capability to all Airbus A318 and A318 Elite operators at airports where stringent approach requirements exist. As ANN reported, tests were carried out London City Airport in 2006, and the A318 demonstrated low noise characteristics making it suitable for urban airports. Urban center airports are surrounded by buildings and usually have stringent noise rules. Steep approaches enable aircraft to meet these constraints by following an approach path at an angle of 5.5 degrees, instead of the three degree approach common at most airports. The A318 is the smallest member of the A320 Family, which also includes the A319, A320 and A321. Typically seating 107 passengers in a two-class layout, and up to 132 passengers in a single-class layout, the A318 can fly distances up to 3200 nautical miles with a full load of passengers. FMI: www.airbus.com aero-news.net **************** Boy, 13, arrested for pointing laser at helicopter A 13-year-old boy was arrested Monday night on suspicion of reckless endangerment after he allegedly pointed a green laser at a Phoenix Police Department helicopter, police said. The helicopter was struck with the laser around 6:30 p.m., police said. Air unit officers determined that the laser originated from a home in the 5600 block of North 13th Drive and notified officers on the ground, police said. Officers found the boy in the backyard and allegedly in possession of the green laser light, police said. He was taken into custody and made incriminating statements, police said. Police believe the boy has pointed a laser at other police and media helicopters in the past. The boy will be detained at the Juvenile Court Center for several counts of reckless endangerment, police said. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1126abrk-laser-ON1126.html **************** John Swift - Passes John J Swift passed away on November 26, 2007 after a long battle with cancer. He retired after a 20 year career with the army and then as an powerplant accident investigator for Rolls-Royce. ****************