01 FEB 2008 _______________________________________ *AA 757 Makes Emergency Landing After Windscreen Heater Malfunction *Passenger jet makes emergency landing after cockpit fills with smoke *Panic, then joy aboard plane *NTSB Releases Preliminary Report On Corona Midair *143 American pilots retired Thursday *Billionaire Branson Plans to Enter Russian Air Market **************************************** AA 757 Makes Emergency Landing After Windscreen Heater Malfunction Inner Pane Shatters, Cuts First Officer Passengers on American Airlines Flight 1738 found themselves in what could have been a made-for-TV movie script over the Atlantic Ocean Wednesday night. The Boeing 757 was carrying 139 passengers and a crew of seven from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Philadelphia when a disturbingly familiar problem cropped up. A burning smell wafted through the cabin, followed by an announcement from the flight deck that the plane would make an emergency landing at Palm Beach International due to smoke in the cockpit. Despite making an emergency descent to lessen the cabin pressure pushing out on the damaged glass, the inner pane of the windshield shattered, causing minor injuries to the first officer. He, along with four other crewmembers and one passenger, were treated for minor smoke inhalation and were released from Palm Beach area hospitals. The National Transportation Safety Board is not sending an investigator, but reportedly has an engineer gathering information from both American Airlines and the FAA. Both flight recorders were removed from the 757, but American was allowed to replace the broken windshield and heater, and return the plane to service. Boeing identified a problem with the windshield heaters in some of its planes four years ago, and issued service bulletins to operators. The heater uses an electric current, passed through conductors in the tempered glass, to defrost it, in much the same way many auto manufacturers configure rear window defoggers. The system works well, and the portion in the glass is trouble-free... but the connector block behind the instrument panel is prone to developing a poor connection where the wiring harness is attached. When that happens, arcing can occur, acting like a mini arc welder, overheating the wires, the block, and the glass. The Palm Beach Post reports the NTSB sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration in September, citing five incidents since 2004 in which the problem had resulted in overheating and even fires. The letter said Boeing was placing a new design in new planes. In the summer of 2006, Boeing sent service bulletins to owners of affected models, including the 757. The NTSB also said the FAA agreed to issue bulletins requiring replacements... but the FAA replied in November, saying only that it would "propose an airworthiness directive" some time this year. The Post reports the passengers handled the stress in different ways. Twenty-four were students from Messiah College, a 3,000-student Christian school near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They, along with two faculty advisors returning after three weeks of study in the Caribbean were seated near the back of the plane. They held hands and prayed aloud. Philadelphia attorney Paul Null told the paper he wrote three goodbye letters to his wife, his 4-year-old son and his 2-year-old daughter. "It was just how much I loved them and some advice for my son on being a man. Just that family is more important than anything else." But, he said, "My wife doesn't want to read it. She said I wrote it under the guise that I wouldn't be here and I was here. "She said, "I know how you feel. Just continue to tell me every day and I won't have to read it in a letter.'" One of the passengers was illusionist Wayne Hoffman, on his way home to Reading, PA after working on a cruise ship. After staging an improvised, 45-minute mind-reading show to calm passengers after the plane landed, he commented, "I'd say it was the most interesting venue I've ever performed." IDENTIFICATION Regis#: AAL1738 Make/Model: B757 Description: B-757 Date: 01/31/2008 Time: 0200 Event Type: Incident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N Damage: Unknown LOCATION City: WEST PALM BEACH State: FL Country: US DESCRIPTION AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 1738, A BOEING 757 AIRCRAFT, DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND DIVERTED DUE TO SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT AND CABIN, AIRCRAFT LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT, SIX PERSONS ON BOARD WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL WITH UNKNOWN INJURIES, NO FIRE WAS REPORTED, WEST PALM BEACH, FL INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0 # Crew: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 5 # Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 1 # Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: WEATHER: NOT REPORTED OTHER DATA Activity: Business Phase: Unknown Operation: Air Carrier FAA FSDO: SOUTH FLORIDA, FL (SO19) Entry date: 01/31/2008 FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.aa.com aero-news.net *************** Passenger jet makes emergency landing after cockpit fills with smoke, windshield cracks An American Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing last night after the windshield cracked and the cockpit filled with smoke. Casandra Davis, a spokeswoman for Palm Beach International Airport, tells the Associated Press that several passengers were taken the hospital after the plane was diverted about two hours into the flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Philadelphia. The cause of the crack and smoke is said to be unknown. An American Airlines spokeswoman tells The Palm Beach Post that glass from the inner window shattered inside the cockpit, but the outer layer of glass remained intact. Capt. Don DeLucia, a spokesman for Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue, tells WPBF-TV that seven people, including the cockpit crew and three flight attendants, were taken to nearby hospitals. http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/01/passenger-jet-m.html ************** Panic, then joy aboard plane Smoke filled cockpit; pilots diverted flight to West Palm The acrid smell of burning plastic was the first sign that something had gone wrong aboard American Airlines flight 1738. Then the cabin went dark. "We were getting kinda nervous," said Cody Wanner, one of 24 Messiah College students aboard the San Juan-to-Philadelphia flight diverted to Palm Beach International Airport on Wednesday night. "Then they told us there were electrical problems." A heating mechanism between two panes of tempered glass of a cockpit window apparently caused smoke in the cockpit about two hours after the Boeing 757 departed from San Juan, according to federal and American Airlines officials. The inner pane shattered after an apparent electrical surge, officials said. The pilots were planning to divert to another airport before the window shattered, American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said. When it did, "that's when they decided to divert to West Palm Beach." The outer pane didn't break and the plane did not lose cabin pressure, American spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said. Still 90 minutes from their emergency landing at Palm Beach International, flight attendants scurried about the cabin looking for flashlights and fire extinguishers, according to Wanner and his classmates. The crew briefed the 139 passengers on what to do in case of a water landing or an emergency evacuation down the escape slides. "That's when I really didn't think it would happen because they made it seem like we would only [use the slide] in a worst-case scenario," Wanner said. "It didn't really seem like anything bad had happened with the engine." Passengers around Wanner, however, cried. His classmates from Grantham, Pa., Messiah College held hands and prayed. Some comforted other passengers, according to Professor Lois Beck. Paul Null, who was flying home to Pennsylvania, wrote a farewell letter to his wife, son and daughter. "[I] came to terms with it and wrote farewell letters to my kids and wife. That's pretty tough," Null told WPTV-Ch. 5. "Never done it before; hope I never have to do it again." And when the 18-year-old plane touched down at 9:08 p.m., passengers erupted in applause. "It was such a relief to be on solid ground," said Ryan Brown, another Messiah student. "The pilots get all the credit." Injuries were minor. The pilot, three flight attendants and one passenger were treated and released at area hospitals for smoke inhalation. The co-pilot suffered cuts on his hand when the cockpit window shattered. American Airlines brought in another plane from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for the passengers who wanted to continue their flight. They left at 2 a.m., arriving in Philadelphia at 4:45 a.m. This wasn't the first time the same electrical problem occurred on the same model plane, federal officials said. It has happened five times on Boeing 757-200s since 2004, said Peter Knudson, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board. There also have been electrical problems in the windshields of Boeing 747s, 767s and 777s, the safety board said. The NTSB has recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration issue what's known as an airworthiness directive, requiring airlines to repair the heating element problem, but the FAA has yet to take that step, safety board officials said. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpplane0201sbfeb01,0,4 962592.story *************** NTSB Releases Preliminary Report On Corona Midair Notes Neither Plane Attempted To Avoid Collision Editor's Note -- This week, the National Transportation Safety Board released its Preliminary Report on the January 20 midair collision between two Cessna high-wing aircraft over Corona, CA. The unedited text of the report follows below. Notably, the NTSB states the collision occurred as one of the aircraft, a C-172, entered the left-hand traffic pattern for Corona Municipal Airport. That plane collided with a C-150, reportedly established on the downwind for runway 25. The aircraft collided about 1.4 miles SSW of the airport. Eyewitnesses said neither aircraft maneuvered in the seconds leading up to the collision, and neither aircraft made any attempt to avoid the other. NTSB Identification: LAX08FA049A 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Sunday, January 20, 2008 in Corona, CA Aircraft: Cessna 172N, registration: N737EJ Injuries: 5 Fatal. NTSB Identification: LAX08FA049B 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Sunday, January 20, 2008 in Corona, CA Aircraft: Cessna 150M, registration: N4008V Injuries: 5 Fatal. This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. On January 20, 2008, about 1534 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172N, N737EJ, and a Cessna 150M, N4008V, collided in flight while approaching runway 25 at the Corona Municipal (uncontrolled) Airport, Corona, California. The midair collision occurred at a location and flight direction consistent with the Cessna 172N entering the left-hand traffic pattern, and the Cessna 150M being in the pattern's downwind leg, about 1.4 miles south-southwest of the airport. The commercial certificated pilot flying the Cessna 172N and his passenger were killed. The two private pilots in the Cessna 150M and a person on the ground were also killed. Both airplanes were fragmented during the midair collision and were subsequently destroyed upon falling nose down into buildings, automobiles, and parking lots. The Cessna 172N was operated by Funoutside, based in Fullerton, California. The Cessna 150M was operated by Corona Flight Academy, based in Corona. The flights were performed under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plans were filed. The purpose of the Cessna 172N's flight has not been determined, and the purpose of the Cessna 150M's flight was personal. The locations and times that the airplanes departed for the accident flight have not been determined. Dozens of eyewitnesses, located within 1 mile around the accident site, reported observing and/or hearing the midair collision. The National Transportation Safety Board investigator interviewed one witness who was located on a hillside about 0.5 mile southwest of the accident site. This witness reported continuously observing both airplanes cruising toward each other for at least 5 seconds preceding the collision. The witness stated that one airplane was flying in a northerly direction toward the Corona Airport, while the other airplane was flying in an easterly direction, just south of the airport. No maneuvering was observed during the seconds immediately prior to the impact. According to the witness, upon colliding, parts of the airplanes separated from each other, and the parts looked like wings. The Safety Board investigator's on scene examination of the wreckage revealed fragmented components of the Cessna 150M along a 300-foot-long path. The principal axis of the wreckage distribution was about 70 degrees. Beginning at the western side of this wreckage path, the first 2 airframe structural components found were the left and right wings, which were separated from the fuselage. Most of the empennage was located east of the wings. The top of the Cessna 150M's vertical stabilizer and rudder assembly were found separated from and south of the main portion of the empennage. Most of the cockpit, firewall, and attached engine assembly were located at ground level inside a building, which bore an engine-sized hole in its roof, at the extreme eastern side of the wreckage distribution path. Instruments from the airplane were located on the roof and inside the building. A fragment of Cessna 172N structure was located several yards from the Cessna 150M's wings. The main Cessna 172N wreckage was located on the ground about 800 feet north-northeast of the Cessna 150M's wings. Portions of both airplanes (landing gears, fuselage skin, instruments) were found commingled at this location. The principal axis of the Cessna 172N's wreckage distribution path was about 025 degrees. During the on-scene wreckage examination of both airplanes, evidence of fuel was observed, and the wing flaps were found retracted. There was no evidence of fire. All of the airplane wreckage has been recovered from the accident site, and an examination for contact evidence between the airplanes is ongoing. Preliminary observations revealed the presence of paint transfer and scratch mark signatures on skin panels, and laceration evidence in structural components. Laceration signatures consistent with propeller blade penetration marks were observed on the lower portion of the Cessna 150M's severed right wing lift strut, right cockpit floor, and right seat. The bottom of the Cessna 172N's white painted left wing bore a series of scratch marks and paint transfer signatures consistent with blue painted portions of the Cessna 150M's fuselage. A several inch-long span in the leading edge of one of the Cessna 172N's propeller blades was found dented. The dent was consistent with the size of the Cessna 150M's severed wing lift strut. The orientation of the scratch marks between the airplanes and the penetration evidence is being documented to determine the respective collision and convergence angles. About the time of the accident, 2 other pilots were flying in the vicinity of Corona. The pilots reported that runway 25 was in active use. FMI: www.ntsb.gov aero-news.net ************** 143 American pilots retired Thursday Falling value of stocks cited for the unusually high number American Airlines Inc. said 143 pilots retired Thursday, an unusually high monthly number that the carrier says was caused by the falling stock market, as pilots decided to lock in the value of retirement plans. In Dallas-Fort Worth, union officials told pilots that 56 of their locally based colleagues had retired. Anticipating the retirements, the carrier last month canceled 28 flights that it had intended to operate in February, mostly on long-distance international routes that used American's newest and largest airplanes, the Boeing 777. "Although this represents an unusual number of retirements, it is about on par with what we anticipated," American spokesman Sue Gordon said Thursday. "We made the decision to cancel a limited number of select flights in February. These cancellations represent a small fraction of our February schedule." She said American has notified customers on the affected flights and is trying to accommodate them on other flights. "We will continue to monitor the situation and will make further adjustments, if needed," she said. Pilots' view The Allied Pilots Association, engaged in contract talks with the airline, has blamed the cancellations on what it calls management's unwise decisions to keep staffing as low as possible. "As we have been warning for months, AMR management's inept decision-making in manning this airline has brought the current industry pilot shortage to the doorstep of AA," pilots were told in the union's weekly newsletter. "The signs are all over the February schedule, with advance cancellations of sequences, reductions in city pair frequencies, pleadings for pilots to defer their February vacations, up to 150 projected early retirements estimated for Feb. 1, and creative scheduling and sequence-building to circumvent FAA safety regulations," the union said. Ms. Gordon said the airline has called on more than 250 management pilots, including those who usually are in the cockpit only to evaluate the performance of regular pilots, to fly trips as needed. "We feel comfortable that we have sufficient pilots to operate what we have scheduled," she said. Age changes In the past, the airline might average 20 to 25 pilots retiring each month as they reached age 60, the federally established age for mandatory retirement. But Congress raised the limit to age 65 in December, throwing uncertainty into American's planning. Pilots now can fly another five years, but the decline in the stock market in late 2007 and early 2008 apparently is causing a lot of pilots to take their money and run. Pilots can lock in the value of their B Plan pension three months in advance of retirement and then choose on their announced retirement date to go ahead and retire or withdraw their notice. With the stock market falling and at much lower values now than on Oct. 31, many more pilots who put in for retirement three months ago are carrying through with those intentions, the airline said. The B Plan, whose value fluctuates with the stock market, is handled by financial managers American Beacon Advisors Inc. American Beacon and American are both units of Fort Worth-based AMR Corp. New proposal On Thursday, American Airlines officials proposed at the negotiating table that American eliminate the B Plan in favor of the pilots' 401(k). Each pilot's current B Plan balance and the company contribution of 11 percent of a pilot's eligible pay would go into the 401(k) instead. American spokeswoman Tami McLallen said the pilots would get the same money they get now and could choose to have American Beacon invest the funds, much the same as the investment manager does with their B Plan money, or pick the other investment choices in the 401(k). Moving to the 401(k) would reduce administrative costs and simplify matters for both the airline and pilots and give pilots more flexibility in managing their retirement money, she said. But it would eliminate the 90-day window flexibility upon retirement. An Allied Pilots Association spokesman said the union would review the proposal before commenting. In addition to the B Plan, American's pilots also participate in the A Plan, a defined-benefit pension. AMR shares rose 84 cents Thursday to $13.94. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/020108dnbusaaretire. 377a128.html *************** Billionaire Branson Plans to Enter Russian Air Market Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Richard Branson, the billionaire who controls U.K. carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., plans to start an airline in Russia to tap into a market growing at 10 percent a year. Branson is in talks with two or three possible local investors and may name a partner within three months to set up a carrier tentatively called Virgin Russia, the entrepreneur said in an interview at an investor conference in Moscow today. ``What they haven't got is a decent airline'' in the country, Branson said. Russian carriers, led by state-controlled OAO Aeroflot, are leasing more aircraft, starting routes and forming international partnerships as economic growth buoyed by oil prices boosts leisure and business travel. The country, which spans 11 time zones, is home to more than 160 airlines. The government is pushing carriers to merge, with Aeroflot and OAO AirUnion to form Russia's two dominant competitors. Sky Express, a discount airline, and Branson's representatives have held discussions and may reach an agreement in two months, Vitaly Korenyugin, a spokesman for the Moscow- based carrier, said in a telephone interview today. Talks included development of low-budget travel in Russia, though the form of any partnership has yet to be identified, he said. Aviation Holdings Besides London-based Virgin Atlantic, Branson's aviation holdings include Brisbane-based Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd., which began flying in August 2000, and a stake in Burlingame, California-based Virgin America Ltd., which started service five months ago. The entrepreneur said Jan. 21 that he may start a domestic Indian carrier. Virgin Russia may begin operations within 12 months, a project requiring ``hundreds of millions of dollars of investment,'' Branson said. The carrier will initially fly domestic routes, though may add destinations abroad. A partner wouldn't have to be another airline, as ``what we are looking for is people we can trust, people we could work with,'' Branson added. Russia's economy expanded by 8.1 percent last year, the fastest pace since 2000, according to government figures released today, and the country is in its 10th consecutive year of growth. Russian airlines flew 45 million passengers last year, an 18 percent increase from 2006, Transport Ministry numbers show. Aeroflot's Market Share Aeroflot has an 11 percent share of Russia's scheduled domestic flights and 65 percent of international services. The airline is awaiting government approval to consolidate Dalavia and Sakhalin Aviatrassi, a regional carrier in Russia's Far East. ``The Russian market is competitive and is attracting more and more interest, with various business models,'' Aeroflot Deputy Chief Executive Officer Lev Koshlyakov said in a telephone interview from Moscow today. ``A new player coming in will make everyone mobilize their resources.'' Sky Express began operations a year ago and flies to nine domestic destinations from Moscow, including the Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Arctic town of Murmansk and St. Petersburg, Russia's second-biggest city. The airline is majority owned by Boris Abramovich, the Russian businessman who controls Hungary's former state-owned carrier Malev Zrt., and has the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as an investor. Russian authorities ran an unscheduled flight safety probe last year into unspecified incidents at Sky Express, according to the Transportation Ministry's Web site. Korenyugin of Sky Express said investigators from the Federal Service of Transport Oversight concluded that the incidents didn't influence flight safety. Timur Khikmatov, a spokesman for the ministry, said by phone today that the ministry will announce its ruling on the airline on Feb. 4. He said he was unaware of Branson's plans. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aztBctJaWq4I&refer=europ e **************