10 MAR 2008 _______________________________________ *Airliner skids off runway in Indonesia *Airliners Go Off-Roading At MKE, CMH *Comair Wants To Expedite FAA Lawsuit Trial *Terrorists tried to crash jet, China claims *US, Australian safety bodies unveil partnership *EASA Establishes Flight Data Analysis Capability with Flightscape Insight Product Line **************************************** Airliner skids off runway in Indonesia Five people were injured when an Adam Air airliner skidded off a runway while landing in heavy rain - the latest in a string of aviation accidents to hit Indonesia in the last year. The Boeing 737-400's right wing, hydraulic system and rear landing gear were damaged when the plane skidded 75 metres into a grass field on Batam island, said Pantun Banjarnahor, chief of operations at Hang Nadim Airport. The airliner was carrying 176 passengers and crew from the capital, Jakarta, he said, and five were hospitalised with head and neck injuries. The third accident involving low-cost carrier Adam Air in just over a year came as the European Union was reviewing a ban imposed on Indonesian carriers following accidents in 2007 that killed more than 120 people. The US Federal Aviation Administration also downgraded Indonesia's rating to its lowest category. It was not immediately clear what went wrong. Danke Drajat, an Adam Air spokesman, said the aircraft was reported to be in "good condition" after an inspection in December and blamed poor weather. But Pantun said the visibility had been good enough for the aircraft to land safely. The airport was closed for more than two hours, causing an unknown number of flight cancellations. Last year, an Adam Air aircraft plunged into the sea from 10,000 metres on New Year's Day, killing all 102 people on board. The fuselage of another Adam Air aircraft split in half after a hard landing a few weeks later, but no one was seriously hurt. And in March 2007 a Garuda Indonesia airliner careened off a runway and burst into flames, leaving 21 dead. The Indonesian government responded by carrying out a review of its 20 carriers, concluding that none met all safety requirements. It ordered them to improve their records or face possible closure. http://news.smh.com.au/airliner-skids-off-runway-in-indonesia/20080310-1yfv. html *************** Airliners Go Off-Roading At MKE, CMH Maybe Tundra Tires Should Be An Option..? Passengers on at least two airliners got to experience grass field operations this weekend. In Columbus, OH passengers on a Continental flight arriving at Port Columbus International Airport (CMH) in a snowstorm Friday night commented they thought the taxiway was unusually bumpy. One passenger told 10 TV News, "You looked outside and you could tell you were in the grass." The pilot missed a turn while exiting the runway, resulting in the 737-300 running off the end. There were no injuries reported in the incident, which happened about 11:30 pm local time Friday. The plane had brought its 131 passengers in from Houston. A few hours later, about 8:15am Saturday morning, a Northwest DC-9 arriving at Mitchell International Airport (MKE) in Milwaukee, WI from Minneapolis made what appeared to be a routine landing on the main north-south runway, but the pilot missed a turn and wound up with the nosewheel in snow-covered grass, with the back of the plane still blocking the runway. Snow removal crews scrambled to clear the longer of the airport's two east-west runways, and told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel normal flights were to resume within two hours after the incident. Again, no injuries were reported, and the plane was said to be stuck but undamaged. FMI: www.mitchellairport.com/, www.columbusairports.com/default.asp aero-news.net **************** Comair Wants To Expedite FAA Lawsuit Trial Asks For Two-Month Head Start Ahead Of Liability Case Attorneys representing Comair in upcoming liability trials have asked a judge to move up its case against the Federal Aviation Administration, regarding the August 27, 2006 early morning takeoff crash of a CRJ100 in Lexington, KY. Representatives of the Delta Air Lines regional subsidiary want the judge to hear Comair's case against the FAA, and make a ruling, two months ahead of the rest of the liability case goes to trial, reports The Associated Press. The combined liability trial is scheduled to begin August 4. As ANN reported, the regional jet crashed on takeoff from the shorter of two available runways at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport. The airliner was cleared to depart on the 7,000-foot Runway 22, but instead lined up to depart from the unlighted, 3500-ft. Runway 26. First officer James Polehinke, who was the flying pilot at the time of the accident, was the sole survivor out of 50 persons onboard. The National Transportation Safety Board ruled the accident was caused largely by the actions of the plane's flight crew -- but Comair asserts the FAA was at least partially culpable, due to a staffing shortage in the LEX tower. The airline notes only one controller was on duty at the time of the accident, to cover ground, tower, approach/departure, and clearance duties. That controller's back was turned to the runway at the time of the crash. Comair wants the FAA's level of responsibility determined in court ahead of FAA counters it would be impossible for a judge to determine the agency's responsibility, without hearing the entire case. "Comair's request to slice off one aspect of this factual sequence for a separate trial simply makes no sense," the FAA responded. The regional airline says it has reached financial settlements with a number of families of crash victims, but says it has run into a "logjam" in seeking more settlements -- an issue that would be resolved if the FAA trial is moved up, Comair told the court. US District Judge Karl Forester set the trial date in January. In addition to determining liability, the August 4 trial will also determine if Comair will be held responsible for punitive damages. FMI: www.comair.com, www.faa.gov, www.ca6.uscourts.gov/internet/index.htm aero-news.net **************** Terrorists tried to crash jet, China claims Flight attendants foiled an attempted attack on a Chinese passenger jet, senior officials from Xinjiang announced yesterday, claiming that terrorists had also plotted to target the Olympics. Their remarks came as they vowed to crack down on the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism in the far-western region, home to a large Muslim Uighur population. Overseas Uighur and human rights groups allege that the authorities have exaggerated the threat of violence to strengthen their control over the region in the past. Nuer Baikeli, governor of Xinjiang region, said employees of China Southern airline prevented an attempt to crash a plane soon after take-off from the region's capital, Urumqi, on a internal flight last Friday. "Some people were attempting to create an air disaster," he told reporters covering the National People's Congress session in Beijing. "Fortunately our air crew took resolute measures, discovered and put a stop to this action promptly. The passengers, crew and aircraft are safe. "Who the people involved in the incident were, where they were from, what their aim was and what their background was, we are now investigating," he said. According to a source for the Reuters news agency, inflammable material was found in the plane's toilet and at least two passengers were arrested. Calls to China Southern and to security headquarters in Urumqi all went unanswered. Xinjiang's Communist party chief, Wang Lequan, said a January raid in Urumqi in which two men were killed and 15 arrested had foiled an attempt to target the summer games. He said the plotters' purpose was "specifically to sabotage the staging of the Beijing Olympics ... Their goal was very clear." Previous reports in the official media had said the group planned violent attacks in early February. In January, officials said they had killed 18 men and arrested 17 in a raid on a terrorist training camp run by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, designated a terrorist organisation by the UN and US. Corinna-Barbara Francis, a researcher with Amnesty International's Asia team, said the government had not provided evidence to back up its claims of terrorist activity. "What has been going on has been a much broader crackdown. They have become so fearful of any expression of Uighur identity that they see it as automatically equating to separatism, and that's equated to terrorism," she added. Turkic-speaking Uighurs account for 8 million of the 19 million-strong population in oil rich Xinjiang. Rebiya Kadeer, the best-known Xinjiang exile and president of the Uighur American Association, has called on China to allow an independent UN investigation into alleged terrorism in the region. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/10/china.terrorism ***** Status: Preliminary Date: 07 MAR 2008 Type: Boeing 757-200 Operator: China Southern Airlines Registration: C/n / msn: First flight: Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Airplane damage: None Location: Lanzhou Airport (LHW) (China) Phase: En route Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Urumqi Airport (URC/ZWWW), China Destination airport: Beijing-Capital Airport (PEK/ZBAA), China Flightnumber: 6901 Narrative: China Southern Flight 6901 took off at 10:35, bound for Beijing. En route a security incident forced air marshallers to arrest some passengers. The pilot diverted to Lanzhou. It is reported that the passengers were attempting to hijack the plane or cause it to crash. (aviation-safety.net) ****************** US, Australian safety bodies unveil THE US-based Flight Safety Foundation and Melbourne's Aviation Safety Foundation Australasia have joined forces and hope to host in Australia a global summit on the aviation skills shortage later this year. The long-term partnership, announced yesterday, is designed to better promote safety in Australia and Southeast Asia and will give the Australian organisation access to the FSF's formidable resources. It will also offer the FSF better access to what is emerging as the biggest aviation market in the world. Both bodies are independent not-for-profit organisations dedicated to researching and promoting aviation safety and preventing accidents. They provide a range of services, including industry training, seminars and workshops aimed at improving aviation practices. Programs run by the ASF include human factors training, pilot mentoring and accident research. Both sides yesterday welcomed the the partnership as beneficial. "With the Aviation Safety Foundation as our regional partner, we are in a much better position to reach out to a very important part of the world," FSF chief executive William Voss said yesterday. "The aviation industry in Australia has needed an independent safety voice and they are turning to the ASF to meet that need. We are very pleased to be part of that." ASF executive director Paul Fox said he was excited by the opportunities the regional partnership offered to Australian members. "The FSF is clearly the independent airline safety body in the world and we are honoured to be working so closely with it," Mr Fox said. "It is the industry here that will be the real winners, having ready access to the FSF's depth of knowledge and expertise." The deal means that members of the ASF will now also have full membership of its US counterpart at no extra cost. Benefits will include subscription to an Australian version of the FSF journal, AeroSafety World, which will be published in Australia with a regional supplement. The ASF will also host in May the US organisation's Approach and Landing Accident Reduction tool kit workshop at several locations across Australia. The tool kit was developed to reduce the worldwide approach and landing fatal accident rate. It includes data, products, findings, conclusions and recommendations from nine years of work by more than 200 international aviation experts. Mr Fox said the organisations were hoping to host the global skills shortage summit in Melbourne in September. But he said details had yet to be finalised. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23330319-23349,00.html **************** European Aviation Safety Agency Establishes Flight Data Analysis Capability with Flightscape Insight Product Line European Aviation Safety Agency Establishes Flight Data Analysis Capability with Flightscape Insight Product Line Flightscape (Ottawa) is pleased to announce that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) based in Cologne, Germany has established a technical capability to analyse and animate flight data using the Flightscape Insight product line. EASA is an agency of the European Union which has been given specific regulatory and executive tasks in the field of aviation safety. Its establishment is key to the European Union's strategy to maintain a high uniform level of aviation safety in Europe and beyond. The Agency's responsibilities include: . Expert advice to the EU for drafting new legislation; . implementing and monitoring safety rules, including inspections in the Member States; . type-certification of aircraft and components as well as approval of organisations involved in their design, manufacture and maintenance; . safety analysis and research. Given that modern aircraft are data rich and to meet the above objectives, EASA felt it was important to establish in-house expertise and capability in the increasingly critical field of flight data analysis. The Flightscape system was selected through an international tender process and was considered to be the most capable and industry accepted system worldwide. Flightscape , part of CAE's training solutions group, offers flight safety expertise in flight data analysis and flight sciences. Flightscape develops software tools that enable the effective study and understanding of recorded flight data to improve safety, maintenance and flight operations. Flightscape software powers IATA's web-based Flight Data Analysis Service to provide Flight Data Monitoring and Flight Operations Quality Assurance as an out-source service to airlines who do not wish to invest in the infrastructure of an in-house program. Flightscape develops flight recorder laboratories including complete turnkey systems. Flightscape's mission is to improve safety on an international basis by having the operator, investigative and aircraft manufacturer communities collaborate on flight data analysis issues with a common suite of continually advancing tools. CAE is a world leader in providing simulation and modelling technologies and integrated training solutions for the civil aviation industry and defence forces around the globe. With annual revenues exceeding C$1 billion, CAE employs approximately 6,000 people at more than 75 sites and training locations in 20 countries. We have the largest installed base of civil and military full-flight simulators and training devices. Through our global network of 27 civil aviation and military training centres, we train more than 75,000 crew members yearly. We also offer modelling and simulation software to various market segments and through CAE's professional services division, we assist customers with a wide range of simulation-based needs. http://www.rotor.com/Default.aspx?tabid=510&newsid905=58119 *****************