29 FEB 2008 _______________________________________ *Smoke alarm prompts return of New Jersey-bound flight to Costa Rica *Alvin man sentenced for threatening flight crew *San Jose to Denver flight delayed after bullet found on seat *Pilot In 2007 Garuda Landing Accident Resigns *Alaska Airlines honored with two safety awards *Dreamliner's fuselage passes structural tests *************************************** Smoke alarm prompts return of New Jersey-bound flight to Costa Rica SAN JOSE, Costa Rica: A Continental Airlines flight en route to New Jersey with 144 passengers on board returned for an emergency landing shortly after takeoff Thursday when a smoke detector went off in the cabin, aviation authorities said. No injuries were reported. After landing safely, the plane resumed its scheduled flight to Newark. Continental Flight 1797, a Boeing 737, reported the emergency at 10:30 a.m. local time, then returned minutes later to Costa Rica's principal airport where it had taken off, said Jean Marc Bourreau, deputy director of the company that runs the airport. Bourreau did not say what time the flight took off. "There wasn't any smoke in the cabin, but the pilots reported that the smoke detector had gone off, so this was a precautionary landing," Bourreau said. Other flights were delayed while firefighters tried to determine what triggered the alarm. No cause was immediately found. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/29/news/Costa-Rica-Flight-Returned.ph p *************** Alvin man sentenced for threatening flight crew BUFFALO, N.Y.(AP) - An Alvin man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for threatening the crew of a JetBlue flight last June. Jose Roman Jr. became belligerent when flight crew members stopped serving him alcohol during a Houston-to-New York City flight. Federal authorities say the 27-year-old passenger made several statements about shooting and killing the crew when the plane landed in New York. The pilot diverted the plane to Buffalo, where Roman was removed. Roman pleaded guilty in September to interference with flight crew members and attendants. He was sentenced Tuesday. In addition to the prison time, he has to pay $2,800 in restitution to the airline. ***************** San Jose to Denver flight delayed after bullet found on seat SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)-A Denver-bound United Airlines flight was delayed after a crew member spotted a bullet on a seat as about 100 passengers were boarding. David Vossbrink, a spokesman for Mineta San Jose International Airport, says the plane was quickly evacuated. The passengers for the flight were re-screened, as were passengers of an Alaska Airlines flight that were also in the terminal at the time of the incident. A security sweep of the United plane turned up no other ammunition of weapons. The passengers were re-boarded onto another plane to continue their travel to Denver. **************** Pilot In 2007 Garuda Landing Accident Resigns Was Presented With Ultimatum, Says Attorney The first Indonesian airline pilot to face criminal charges related to an airliner accident has now also lost his job. An attorney for Captain Marwoto Komar says his client was presented with a choice to either resign as a captain for Garuda Indonesia Airlines, or be fired. A report in the Sydney Morning Herald says Komar will be charged with negligence for his role the March 7, 2007 crash in Yogyakarta. As ANN reported, investigators determined Komar became "fixated" with landing, and ignored 15 alarms and verbal warnings from his co-pilot, warning he was too fast on final approach. Komar now is free on bail, after his arrest earlier this month. His arrest was a controversial move in the eyes of several international pilot groups, which feared Komar's arrest sets a dangerous precedent, and opens the door for other commercial pilots to be held criminally liable for accidents. Indonesian authorities may have felt pressured to make an example of the pilot in response to worldwide pressure to improve the country's abysmal airline industry safety record. But aviation regulators worldwide urged Indonesia to reconsider, saying criminal charges for pilots will only suppress reporting of safety issues in the future. To be fair, there seems to have been lots of negligence to go around in this case. After the airliner flown by Komar touched down at 255 knots, it overshot the end of the runway -- which was too short for the plane under international standards. It also came to light that Komar may have resisted his co-pilot's pleas to abort the landing because he was paid a bonus by Garuda for conserving fuel. And after the plane came to a stop in a rice field 300 feet past the end of the runway and exploded in flames, the airport's firefighting equipment reportedly took an hour to reach it and extinguish the blaze. FMI: www.garuda-indonesia.com/, www.dephub.go.id/knkt/ntsc_home/ntsc.htm aero-news.net **************** Alaska Airlines honored with two safety awards Alaska Airlines has received two awards in recognition of its safety record over the past year. The carrier has been presented with a "Shield" for the fifth year running from The Medallion Foundation of Alaska. The Shield is the highest accolade given by the Alaska-based nonprofit organization and recognizes Alaska's best practice and accident-free year of operations. As well as gaining another Shield title, the airline was also praised by the Alaska Air Carriers Association (AACA) which aims to improve aviation safety and training. Chris Glaeser, Vice-President of Safety at the airline, commented: "It's an honor for Alaska Airlines to be recognized by the AACA and the Medallion Foundation. "These groups are dedicated to promoting a level of safety above and beyond minimum FAA requirements." Alaska's codeshare partners Era Aviation and PenAir also gained Shield awards from The Millennium Foundation. http://news.cheapflights.com/airlines/2008/02/alaska-airlines.html **************** Dreamliner's fuselage passes structural tests Boeing said Thursday it successfully completed structural testing this week of a 787 Dreamliner fuselage section in its Everett factory. The large barrel-shaped section, made from carbon-fiber-reinforced composite plastic, was held fast in a metal fixture, then pushed, twisted and sheared. It approached but did not reach breaking point, withstanding forces more than two-and-a-half times the force of gravity. "We tested it to the point where we thought it would be destroyed and a little bit beyond," said spokeswoman Lori Gunter, "and it did not destruct." The incremental tests first took the barrel to "limit load," simulating the most extreme conditions expected to be experienced in the life of the airplane, then to 150 percent of limit load - a condition called "ultimate load," the level required for certification. Finally, the engineers upped the pressure to twice the ultimate load, at which point they "observed audible indications of damage" (the cracking sound of fibers breaking), though the fuselage section was still shy of "the level of destruction that had been anticipated," according to a company statement. Gunter said engineers are analyzing the results. Though no further testing of fuselage pieces is needed for certification, "we will do additional testing and that may include adding more pressure to find the breaking point." Boeing also is testing other parts of the Dreamliner structure, including the tail fin and horizontal tail. And sometime before final certification, Boeing will do a "static test" of an entire airplane, stressing the structure beyond ultimate load. Though on past jet programs this test has continued until the wings break, Gunter said Boeing has not yet decided whether it needs to go that far in testing the Dreamliner structure. Federal agency stipulates new "special condition" Separately Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stipulated a new "special condition" that the Dreamliner must meet before it will be certified to fly. Boeing must demonstrate the plane can recover from a complete failure of its two main in-flight power sources, the engines and the auxiliary power unit (APU). Many systems that have been pneumatically or mechanically operated on other planes - such as the wing anti-ice or the engine start systems - are electrically powered on the 787. "Service experience has shown that loss of all electrical power from the airplane's engine- and APU-driven generators is not extremely improbable," the FAA notice reads. "Thus, Boeing must show that the airplane is capable of recovering adequate primary electrical power generation for safe flight and landing." Some alternative source of electrical power, such as a battery, must be capable of operating for the time necessary to ensure a safe flight and landing, the FAA said. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/boeingaerospace/2004249879_boeing29.ht ml ***************