20 FEB 2008 _______________________________________ *Trainee in jet cockpit at time of near miss *FAA checks report of sleeping Mesa Air Group subsidiary pilots in Hawaii *Citation III Accident (Venezuela) *Cracks found in 14 Qantas jets *************************************** Trainee in jet cockpit at time of near miss A 27-year-old crew member in training to be a copilot was in the cockpit of the Japan Air Lines jumbo jet that came close to hitting another aircraft on the ground at Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport on Saturday, and was handling communications between the plane and the control tower, the Construction and Transport Ministry's Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission found Tuesday. The jet nearly rear-ended another plane after beginning its takeoff run without permission from air traffic controllers. In the cockpit at the time were the captain, copilot and trainee, all of whom misheard the controller's instruction, the investigation found. The commission says the captain and copilot failed to confirm the controller's instructions, in direct violation of JAL's operations manual. It is believed the trainee, who has a total of 340 flight hours, had been put in charge of contacting controllers by the captain. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080220TDY02306.htm *************** FAA checks report of sleeping Mesa Air Group subsidiary pilots in Hawaii The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether the pilots of a Mesa Air Group Inc.'s go! subsidiary flight fell asleep on the way from Honolulu to Hilo on Feb. 13. FAA public affairs officer Ian Gregor confirmed the investigation but said the FAA could not comment until it completes its investigation. Honolulu Channel KGMB-9 reported Monday that air traffic controllers tried to contact the pilots of Flight 1002 for 25 minutes and received no response. The aircraft, which took off on time from Honolulu at 9:25 a.m., flew past the Big Island and 15 miles out to sea before turning around and landing, sources told the Honolulu news station. The 200-mile flight between Honolulu and Hilo typically takes about 40 minutes. Jonathan Ornstein, chairman and CEO of Mesa Air Group (Nasdaq:MESA), in Phoenix, told Pacific Business News Tuesday: "At this point, it is under investigation by Mesa, and until that investigation is complete and we have a better understanding of what happened, we can't comment." Gregor said pilots who violate FAA regulations can be subject to a wide range of sanctions, including revocation of their pilot's license. "Until we determine exactly what happened, it would be inappropriate to comment what if any action will be done," Gregor said. http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/02/18/daily15.html *************** Citation III Accident (Venezuela) Status: Preliminary Date: 18 FEB 2008 Time: ca 17:00 Type: Cessna 650 Citation III Operator: private Registration: N385EM C/n / msn: 650-0145 First flight: 1987 Crew: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Total: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 Airplane damage: Destroyed Location: Caico Seco (Venezuela) Phase: En route Nature: Unknown Departure airport: Valencia-Arturo Michelena International Airport (VLN/SVVA), Venezuela Destination airport: Puerto Ordaz/Ciudad Guayana-General Manuel Carlos Piar Airport (PZO/SVPR), Venezuela Narrative: The Citation III crashed and disintegrated in a field en route between Valencia (VLN) and Puerto Ordaz (PZO) in Venezuela. (aviation-safety.net) ***************** Cracks found in 14 Qantas jets THE once enviable safety record of Qantas has suffered another blow, after air safety investigators confirmed the discovery of cracks in the "drip shields" of nearly half of the airline's 747 fleet. The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau yesterday revealed Qantas found cracks in 14 of its 30 Boeing 747-400s, similar to those on a jet that lost nearly all of its electrical power on approach to Bangkok on January 7. The bureau in its preliminary report said "the event was less serious than first reported" regarding the London to Bangkok flight. It said one of the jet's four power generation units was still in operation, along with some systems powered by batteries. The loss of power occurred after a blocked sink led water to leak onto the forward galley of the plane and through the crack onto three electrical generator control units underneath. Cabin crew attempted to soak up the water that covered the entire galley floor using five blankets. Minutes later, the jet's auto-pilot was disengaged, the first officer's displays were "blanked" and three of the jets four power units lost power. "The captain's primary flight display, navigation display, and some other instruments were available in a degraded mode," the report said. Around 27 minutes after losing power, the jet landed. A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline fixed the cracks discovered on its 747s after the Bangkok incident and was working with investigators and Boeing. http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/cracks-found-in-14-qantas-jets/2008/02/19/ 1203190812849.html ****************