31 DEC 2007 _______________________________________ *Search Helicopter Crash Kills 3 in Ala. *Baggage ban on batteries begins *Nomad Accident (Indonesia) *AI may lose maintenance licence *Airplane grounded because of 'burnt smell' *180 passengers evacuated after plane takes wrong turn at KCI *Runway Incursion Reported at LAX *************************************** Search Helicopter Crash Kills 3 in Ala. TUSCUMBIA, Ala. (AP) - A helicopter crashed in thick woods early Sunday during the search for a missing hunter, killing all three people on board, according to the company that owns the aircraft. The cause of the crash was under investigation, said Jeff Davis, a manager of Air Evac EMS, based in West Plains, Mo. The helicopter crew had spotted the hunter and the crash occurred as the aircraft was hovering over his location, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Warren Woodberry. The hunter was recovered, said Colbert County Sheriff Ronnie May. He said the hunter, whose name was not released, had disappeared after dark Saturday in the Freedom Hills Wildlife Management Area, a 31,572-acre state hunting preserve. The hunter was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life threatening, May said. Air Evac EMS did not release the names of the victims on the helicopter - the pilot, a nurse and an unidentified third crew member. The victims were "our family members and we are devastated at this loss. Our focus at this time is on providing support for the family and friends of these crew members," Air Evac President and CEO Colin Collins said in a statement Sunday. Air Evac has helicopters based in 12 states. In addition to providing air ambulance services, it often helps local law enforcement agencies with search and rescue missions free of charge, said company spokeswoman Julie Heavrin. **************** Baggage ban on batteries begins WASHINGTON (AP) - To help reduce the risk of fires, air travelers will no longer be able to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage beginning Jan. 1, the Transportation Department said Friday. Passengers can still check baggage with lithium batteries if they are installed in electronic devices, such as cameras, cell phones and laptop computers. If packed in plastic bags, batteries may be in carryon baggage. The limit is two batteries per passenger. The ban affects shipments of non-rechargeable lithium batteries, such as those made by Energizer Holdings Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co.'s Duracell brand. "Doing something as simple as keeping a spare battery in its original retail packaging or a plastic zip-lock bag will prevent unintentional short-circuiting and fires," Krista Edwards, deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, said in a release. The Federal Aviation Administration has found that fire-protection systems in the cargo hold of passenger planes can't put out fires sparked in lithium batteries. The National Transportation Safety Board earlier this month said it could not rule out lithium batteries as the source of a cargo plane fire at Philadelphia International Airport last year. http://tech.yahoo.com/news//ap/20071228/ap_on_hi_te/lithium_batteries_travel *************** Nomad Accident (Indonesia) Status: Preliminary Date: 30 DEC 2007 Time: ca 11:30 Type: GAF Nomad N.22B Operator: Tentara Nasional Indonesia-AL (Navy) Registration: P-833 C/n / msn: 168 First flight: Crew: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 7 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 7 Airplane damage: Written off Location: off Sabang (Indonesia) Phase: Approach Nature: Military Departure airport: Sabang-Maimun Saleh Airport (SBG/WITB), Indonesia Destination airport: Medan-Polonia Airport (MES/WIMM), Indonesia Narrative: The Indonesian Navy Nomad departed Sabang at 11:10 on a maritimie surveillance misson. After fifteen minutes the pilot reported engine problems and said he was returning to Sabang. The Nomad did not make it to the airfield and the airplane came down 200 m offshore in bad weather and sank. Of the seven people on board, two were rescued, two died and three were reported missing. (aviation-safety.net) ************** AI may lose maintenance licence MUMBAI: When the New Year dawns, the Maharaja may wake up and find itself without a valid licence for the maintenance and repair of its aircraft. The reason? The very rule under which Air India got the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)'s approval to maintain and repair its aircraft (and other aircraft) stands to be scrapped on December 31. While all the other airlines in India have got themselves approved under the new rule that will replace the old one, the Maharaja, for some reason, has been sleeping on it. One of the repercussions of its procrastination would be the loss of rights to claim insurance in the event of an accident/incident. The rules passed by Parliament require all Indian-registered aircraft to be maintained by bodies approved by the DGCA. The existing rule governing this, is Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 2 Series E Part I. On January 26, 2005, DGCA came out with a new rule to replace it called CAR 145 -- based upon rules in Europe claiming they were of international standard -- and instructed all aircraft maintenance organisations to move over to the new regime. The deadline for all airlines was March 31, 2007. "Though Air India missed the deadline, the certification of its maintenance organisation was valid under the old rule. The problem is that, on December 31, the old rule stands to be scrapped and will cease to exist for commercial aircraft operators," said a source. However, AI spokesperson Jitender Bhargava countered: "This will, in no way, affect the safety standards we follow. With regards to the recognition that we currently hold, we will have extension beyond December 31 pending resubmission of manuals of both Air Indian and Indian, which are being integrated. Our people have attended a quality control meeting with the DGCA and are aware of this issue." He added that AI had sought an extension from the DGCA in writing. "Getting an approval under CAR 145 is an ongoing process and will take time. We have begun the process." But whether the expiry date of a CAR can be extended for a single airline remains to be seen. All new carriers like Kingfisher Airlines, Spice Jet, Go Air are following CAR 145. The older airlines like Jet Airways have also moved to the new CAR. "The DGCA has been so strict about changing to CAR 145 that even the smaller MROs have got themselves approved under the new rule before the deadline," said the source. What is noteworthy is that changing from the old rule to the new one involves much more than just paperwork. "It involves reorganisation and observing new procedures and standards, none of which can be done overnight," the source adds. Incidentally, there have been reports that National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), the merged entity of Air India and Indian, has been advised by its consultants to start four aircraft maintenance and repair organisations to take up the work of all type of aircraft. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_Business/AI_may_lose_maintenance_li cence/articleshow/2663067.cms **************** Airplane grounded because of 'burnt smell' A Delta plane flying from Atlanta to Cozumel, Mexico, made an emergency landing in Tallahassee Saturday afternoon after crew members said they smelled smoke. No one was hurt. "One of the pilots reported smelling sort of a burnt smell in the cockpit and declared an emergency," said Susan West, a Delta spokeswoman. "Maintenance is investigating what may have caused the smell." Jim Durwin, assistant superintendent of operations for Tallahassee Regional Airport, said the Tallahassee Fire Department checked the plane with thermal imaging equipment, but did not find any "hot spots." The Fire Department was dispatched at 1:12 p.m., and eight fire trucks responded to the runway, where the plane landed shortly before 1:30 p.m., firefighter Randy McCoy said. The plane had a full load of fuel because it had just taken off from Atlanta and was heavier than it would be for normal landings, but the brakes worked fine, Durwin said. The 141 passengers on board Delta flight number 289 waited at Tallahassee Regional Airport until a new plane arrived. The new plane departed at 6 p.m., delaying the passengers' arrival in Cozumel by several hours. West said similar situations have happened on occasion. "We're very, very safety focused," she said. "Any time that they think there could be an issue, they take care of it." http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071230/NEWS01/712300 316/1010 **************** 180 passengers evacuated after plane takes wrong turn at KCI Becca Carr of Overland Park, a passenger on the United Airlines flight, took this photo of the plane stuck in mud at KCI. A plane carrying about 180 passengers made a wrong turn onto a service road at Kansas City International Airport this morning and got stuck in mud, prompting the evacuation of passengers. No one was injured about 6:40 a.m. when the United flight was preparing to depart for Denver in foggy conditions and turned onto the road instead of a taxiway, according to airport officials. The nose gear and right-side landing gear of the Boeing 757 got stuck in mud. Buses were dispatched to take passengers to the terminal where airline officials were making arrangements to get them to their destinations. http://www.kansascity.com/116/story/423751.html *************** Runway Incursion Reported at LAX LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two airliners came within 8,000 feet of each other on a Los Angeles International Airport runway after an air traffic controller miscommunicated with the pilots, authorities said. The runway incursion Wednesday night involved an American Airlines plane arriving from Mexico and a Mexicana Airlines plane preparing for takeoff. The arriving plane, an MD-80 from San Jose del Cabo, had just landed on the outer runway and was about to cross the inner runway, where an Airbus A319 was about to take off for Morelia, Mexico, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor. The traffic controller told the American Airlines pilot to stop before crossing the inner runway, Gregor said. The pilot apparently misheard the direction and read back that he would go ahead and cross the runway. The controller did not catch the pilot's statement and cleared the Mexicana flight for takeoff before realizing that the American Airlines jetliner was about to roll onto the runway, the FAA said. The controller immediately told both pilots to stop. No injuries were reported. "We're logging this as a controller error and not a pilot error because the burden is on the controller to ensure that the pilot's read-back is correct," Gregor said. The controller will undergo more training, authorities said. Meanwhile, aviation officials in Illinois reported two errors in which airplanes flew too close to each other Thursday. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro said the planes were not in danger of colliding in either case. In one error at the FAA's Chicago Center radar facility in Aurora, traffic controllers gave clearance to an American Airlines plane coming from O'Hare International Airport and another plane heading to Milwaukee, but one of the pilots did not follow instructions, Molinaro said. The planes passed 4.17 miles away from each other near Goshen, Ind.; the recommended distance is five miles. The same day, controllers improperly directed a Boeing 757 flown by United Airlines and another flown by American to fly 2.8 miles apart as they prepared to land one after the other at O'Hare, Molinaro said. The standard distance in that situation is four miles.